Allergies can often be incapacitating to sufferers, affecting work, family and active events. The good news is that the allergy is reversible. An allergy is a symptom, not a cause, so the goal is to get to the cause and then heal naturally—through healing the gut.

People mainly think of food allergies, although we can react to anything. Food allergy or intolerance produces multiple symptoms. Common symptoms in the vast majority are digestive problems: pain, diarrhea or constipation, urgency, bloating, indigestion. We need to look deeper at what causes food intolerances.

In a person with abnormal gut flora, the gut becomes a major source of toxicity in the body instead of being a source of nourishment. As the toxins produced by the pathogens in the gut absorb into the bloodstream, they get distributed around the body, causing problems.

An allergy is a symptom, and the cause is a breach of the gut wall caused by abnormal gut flora that allows intestinal lumen contents into the bloodstream. Reaction happens. The metabolites of the abnormal flora activate the immune system in the gut wall. An allergy is the sign the person needs to heal and seal their gut wall and reseed the good microbes. An allergy can signify gut inflammation. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) take care of it naturally.

The SCD and GAPS get to the cause and allow the gradual healing of allergies—meaning healing the gut wall. At the source of this reactivity is the breach of the gut wall. Synonyms for the breach are dysbiosis, small intestinal bowel overgrowth (SIBO), leaky gut and hyperpermeability of gut wall.

In a 2009 article in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride writes, “I have been using SCD for many years in my clinic and it is the diet for food allergies. As I work largely with children with learning disabilities, I group these patients under the name Gut and Psychology Syndrome or GAPS. Over the years, I developed a GAPS Introduction Diet for the more severe end of the spectrum. I find the Introduction Diet is particularly effective in food allergies, as it allows the gut wall to heal quicker.”

The SCD and GAPS provide nourishment for the gut lining and positive microbes in the form of fermented foods. The Introduction Diet is structured in stages, with the patient following the stages one by one. Campbell-McBride recommends following the Full Diet for two years on average to restore normal gut flora and gastrointestinal function.

Sheila Shea is Director of Intestinal Health Institute, founded in 1997 to promote the natural healing of the gastrointestinal system through nutrition, colon hydrotherapy and detoxification. She stays in shape with yoga, tennis and regular meditation practice. Connect at 520-325-9686, [email protected] or SheilaShea.com.