According to Ayurveda, the food we eat determines our state of health or illness. As a holistic medical science, Ayurveda takes a root cause approach to treating food allergies/sensitivities and provides a unique framework for individuals to eat appropriate seasonal foods for their constitution to foster long-term holistic health.
This article provides a brief explanation of food allergies from a traditional and holistic healing perspective, as well as practical nutrition and lifestyle tools for food allergy and sensitivity treatment. For more information on seasonal allergies, read our article Alleviate Your Allergies.
What is a Food Allergy?
An allergy is when the body interprets an antigen, or foreign object, as a foreign invader. When an antigen, or foreign object, is interpreted as harmful, the body makes an antibody to protect itself from the substance.
Oftentimes, it is not the antigen that is the problem for the body – eg. dairy, wheat or nuts – but rather the body’s response to the antigen.
The antibodies that the body produces in response to perceived foreign invaders are proteins in the blood. These proteins sit on the surface of mast cells in the connective tissue and on basophils in the white blood cells. Both types of antibodies are lymphocytes, or immune cells.
This means that any allergic reaction is an immune response – your body trying to protect itself.
Specifically, during an allergic response, these antibodies will release histamine and heparin into the body, creating vasodilation (widening of blood cells) and anticoagulation (prevention of blood clots), which allows the white blood cells to flow to the area faster to fight the antigen.
This is a complicated way of saying that your body undergoes an intense immunoinflammatory response to help protect you against allergens. Acute inflammatory responses are considered normal while chronic allergic inflammation can alter the normal function of bodily tissues and lead to disease.
Many of us write off our allergies as “normal” but inappropriate inflammation is the most important dysfunction that occurs in all types of allergies and should not be ignored.
Food Allergies vs Food Sensitivities
Food allergies: When the body is exposed to a food allergy it responds most consistently, meaning the same response will take place with the same food allergy.
Food sensitivities: These are less consistent than food allergies and they can have a delayed response in the body, anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The body may also respond differently to the same food sensitivity at different times.
Some of the most common food allergies/sensitivities include dairy, shellfish, eggs, nuts, wheat, corn and soybeans.
Generally, the body responds to the protein in the allergen and when it differs from the body’s proteins. It can be challenging for the body to know how to process it, and therefore, will respond to it as a foreign invader.
An Ayurvedic Perspective on Allergies
Ayurvedic medicine understands that allergies result from an imbalance in digestive fire, a weakened immune system and weakened bodily tissues. These factors result in the immune system responding inappropriately to some proteins.
The strength of one’s digestive fire determines their ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients, and appropriately remove wastes. Assimilated nutrients become the very tissues and cells that make up the body and govern physiological functions.
Accumulated wastes – or toxins – impair absorption and assimilation and, therefore, the proper development of tissues. When digestive fire is imbalanced, symptoms manifest and disease results.
Ayurveda assesses symptoms based on the dominant energy, or dosha, disrupted.
Vata Dosha – Air Types
Initial imbalances include variable appetite, bloating, gas, constipation, nerve pain, joint pain and disturbed or light sleep.
Pitta Dosha – Fire Types
Initial imbalances include high appetite, burning indigestion, loose stools, burning diarrhea, heartburn, and skin conditions such as hives, rashes or acne.
Kapha Dosha – Earth Types
Initial imbalances include low appetite, sluggish digestion, dull mind, lack of motivation, cold and cough.
In each energetic type, these are warning signs that there are disruptions in digestion, resulting in toxic accumulation, gut inflammation and – in many cases – food allergies.
Furthermore, eating difficult-to-digest foods often can push the digestive fire out of balance because they strain the digestive organs and tend to sit stagnant in the gut. The most common food allergies come from foods that are difficult to digest.
The longer food stays stagnant in the digestive tract, the more the body starts to perceive it as a foreign invader and the more toxins will accumulate. These toxins irritate the liver and the immune system may be activated to support the liver, which can result in high-level reactivity to foods.
Building Ojas
In Ayurveda, the term ojas refers to our immunity, vitality and vigor. When we experience allergies, we have a weakened state of ojas and cannot process a substance that our body now perceives as an allergen. Remember, it isn’t the nut, dairy or vegetable that is the problem; it’s your body’s response to it, which signals the strength of your ojas.
If ojas are strong, even an overexposure to an antigen would not create an allergic response. This is why babies are not introduced to food immediately. They need to build their immune system first. As we get older and we are exposed to more things, the body learns things are safe and not foreign invaders. This develops an appropriate allergic response.
In Ayurveda, tissue weakness is referred to as Dhatu Pashaya. In some constitutions, tissue health is weakened due to internal dryness. The more internal dryness there is, the weaker the tissue layers of the body become, leaving us fragile, vulnerable and susceptible to inflammation.
Most allergies are hot and dry. Inflammation is a result of excess pitta, or fire energy. Inflammation is often experienced in the mucosal layer of the body, in combination with underlying excess vata, or air energy, which produces dryness. Hot, dry qualities set the stage for allergy symptoms to manifest.
In other constitutions – that do not suffer from as much dryness – the accumulation of toxins living in unhealthy fat cells will weaken the tissues, cause inflammation and result in chronic allergic responses.
Either way, weakened or compromised tissue layers can lower ojas and low ojas can weaken tissue layers. An Ayurvedic approach to treating allergies therefore focuses on both of these factors: increasing ojas and detoxifying and strengthening tissue layers.
Although symptomatic relief can be attained through holistic treatments, addressing internal weakness is necessary in order to address the root cause of allergies.
An Ayurvedic Approach to Food Allergy Treatment
- Cleanse the entire digestive system. Working with a practitioner is essential to supporting you on this journey.
- After cleansing, it is important to rebuild digestive fire with well-cooked and well-spiced foods.
- Rebuild the gut lining and build healthy gut bacteria by sipping on quality bone broth in the mornings and triphala tea in the evenings.
- Calm an overactive immune system with our Immunity Support Meditation
- Reduce inflammation through diet and lifestyle.
- Increase hydration internally and externally by adding ghee into your cooking, sipping on warm water throughout the day and practicing self oil body massage called abhyanga to calm the nervous system and nourish the tissues.
- Follow the General Guidelines for Healthy Eating to reduce stress in your gut and improve digestion.
- Eat mindfully and take a few deep breaths before eating and rest after eating.
In order to treat food allergies at their root cause, Ayurvedic treatment plans function to balance the interconnected components to strengthen ojas, calm the nervous system, balance the endocrine system and heal the gut.
Article authored by Chloe Chaput, who is dedicated to her role as a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (CAS) to work with women’s health, male and female fertility challenges, parents/caregivers, and children to address a variety of clinical health concerns at the root of their cause. Contact Path Wellbeing today to set up your appointment with Chloe Chaput, CAS.
The information contained within this article is for educational purposes only and should not replace the direct advice of a qualified healthcare professional. Always consult a professional healthcare provider when considering a new health regime.
