Stuffy Nose: Is it allergy season or might you have a hidden food sensitivity?

I woke up every morning with a stuffy nose for years. I didn’t think too much about it. It was normal for me. I was accustomed to it. That is, until I did an elimination diet that cut out common allergenic foods. It turns out that I have a few food sensitivities that I wasn’t previously aware of because I was just living with a stuffy nose (gluten), hip and knee joint pain (soy), and brain fog (dairy), and acne (sugar). Ugh! How come this is not common knowledge?!? I would have made changes in my food choices much sooner if I knew I could feel so much better. And, I wasn’t even trying to find food sensitivities when I stumbled on to the elimination diet book at the used bookstore. I was just trying to lose that extra 10 pounds.

Like so many of us, my entree into health and wellness sphere was via the weight loss door. Now that I know more, I’m avoiding those foods because I know my body doesn’t tolerate them well. That doesn’t mean I’m perfect. I do sometimes choose to have a gluten-full cookie when I’m on the Delta Airlines flight - hello Biscoff(R)! At least I know I’m making a choice and am aware of the consequences of my choice. Knowledge is powerful. 

Now I feel empowered to listen to my body and do what works for me. Guess what? My bio-individual diet is not published in a diet book. It’s my own style of eating that I’ve figured out by experimenting, journaling, learning, reading, cooking and eating. I’ve also learned that what works for me in one season of my life (vegetarian for 10 years in my 20s-30s) does not work for me in other seasons of my life and that is okay! There is nothing wrong with me. That’s how life goes - you keep figuring it out.

Eight years later, I’m pretty happy with those “extra” 10 pounds. I’m working on turning them into muscles rather than fat, which is supposed to help with longevity. I trust that my body knows its natural set-point and I’m happy to cooperate with it rather than fight it.