According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Theory, in order to have good health we must have sufficient energy, called Chi and your body’s internal organs must be balanced and work in harmony with each other’s energy.
TCM views food allergies and intolerances as a result of imbalances within the Kidneys, Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Large Intestine. Most food allergies are not always actual allergies to food, but rather food intolerances that develop because of exhaustion of the body’s internal energy.
Food intolerances arise when the organs become imbalanced and weakened and can no longer carry out their function in the digestive and kidney systems.
Food allergies occur when the body’s immune system misidentifies a normally harmless substance as a threat to the body. An inflammatory reaction takes place in an attempt to eject this substance from the system, resulting in a vast variety of symptoms.
To name just a few:
Abdominal pain / distention, IBS, Bloating / Gas, Indigestion, Constipation / Diarrhoea / Both, Decreased or increased appetite, Nausea and vomiting, Floating, foul smelling, bloody or mucus stools, undigested food in stools, Anaemia, Bone and joint pain / Osteoporosis, Weight loss/ Weight Gain, Fatigue, Depression / Anxiety, Food cravings
It is estimated that up to 80% of Adults in the USA and Australia will experience adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion in their life time, yet it remains one of the most under diagnosed illnesses and is seldom related to food allergies.
Your adrenal gland is no larger than a walnut and weighs less than a grape, and sit on the top of each Kidney. They are responsible for one of the most important functions in your body, managing your stress. They are the fight/ flight glands of your body and brain. They give you the ability to run (move) or fight (defend yourself) and have evolved for our survival.
When the adrenal glands are over taxed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees that the kidney/adrenal chi will become exhausted or empty. In Western Medicine adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion is a chemical /hormonal problem while in TCM it is both energy and chemistry.
Two tell-tale signs of adrenal burnout is feeling chronically fatigued and having food allergies. The basis of most adrenal fatigue or burnout is stress, long term chronic stress.
The precipitating event for most people is a period of intense emotional stress. It doesn’t have to be negative stress. I have had clients who are young men who love to participate in triathlon events. After a couple of years competing in these gruelling events they develop food allergies and eventually all the symptoms of chronic fatigue.
When your body/brain is in flight or fight mode your physical body responds. Your breathing increases, over a 1000 different chemical reactions occur, hormones are released that cascade down through all of the endocrine system, adrenaline is released giving you the energy to act and react very quickly, heart beat rate increases, digestion slows and blood is taken away from the stomach into the muscles, blood thickens in case of bleeding, nervous system and brain become hyper-alert.
Now, these are all needed for your survival, but only while you are in real and present danger. States of chronic stress happens when your body doesn’t have the time to relax, recreate, replenish and restore these vital energies needed for a healthy and harmonious life.
Infertility for female and males is directly related to this exhaustion of ancestral energy/kidney essence. The IVF program is helping us create babies, however at what cost to their vital energy. One health issue that is arising is that IVF children may experience a slower growth rate than other children. In Traditional Chinese Medicine this is can be directly related to a low level of Kidney essence.
With each generation humanity is becoming weaker due to the excesses and ignorance of the generation before. Doctors in the USA are beginning to see 12 and 15 years old boys and girls with food allergies and adrenal burnout.
An effective way to heal food allergies and restore this vital energy is using Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Taoist breathing exercises coupled with deep relaxation and emotional balancing.
Acupuncture will restore the baseline and over time help you to return to optimum health. For any treatment to have lasting results the client needs to implement a health program that focuses on relaxing and de-stressing their environment, and to appreciate and understand the importance of rest, relaxation and inner calm.
