A Food Allergy and Sensitivity Test During the Holidays? Yes!

Are we crazy? Why would be recommending a food allergy and sensitivity test during the busy hustle and bustle of the holiday season? The holiday season (really ANY holiday season) is a great time to get tested for food allergies and sensitivities. Here’s why:

• The family is gathered together– First and foremost, holidays are about family. The kids are home from school or on break from college, the grandparents are in town, and people make time to be together. Although it’s busy, this is a time to catch up with one another and to talk about things more at leisure. Find out if anyone has been feeling fatigued, or hazy. Talk about energy levels and focus. The gut is the linchpin for many other systems in the body and can be the source of systemic inflammation. There’s time now that the whole family is gathered together to be assessed for food allergies and sensitivities, as these are often at the root of other symptoms. Knowing what to avoid can increase your energy, focus, and recall as well as help to prevent longer-term inflammatory impacts. Test the whole family.

• Your gut gets a workout during the holidays– Let’s face it, many of us overindulge during the holidays. We eat more than we should, we may imbibe a little more than usual, and we eat things we often don’t during the rest of the year. Not just treats and rich foods, but a wider variety of foods than we may normally consume. Whether it’s more frequent dining out, the variety of dishes on the holiday table, or traditional foods that just get made a few times a year, we’re exposing our microbiomes- and our immune systems to a greater variety of foods than during other times of the year. This is the perfect time to be tested for food allergies and sensitivities. Not only might we eat something different that makes us feel a little off, or overindulging reveals digestion issues that are related to the microbiome, but the recent exposure to so many different foods means that a reaction is more likely to show up on a food allergy and sensitivity test because of this.

• The New Year is on the horizon- a time when most are ready to set goals for health- Many cultures see the new year as a time to examine and reset their lives for the better. No matter when you celebrate the New Year holiday, at that time of year there is a stronger desire to turn a new leaf. Resolving to be healthier- and sticking to it- is often difficult, but the extra motivation that comes from a New Year’s resolution can help many people get over the hump. Experts say that the reason people fail is because they pick something too challenging to achieve for their healthy New Year’s resolution. A moderate goal like getting a food allergy and sensitivity test and then sticking to the elimination diet that comes with the test results is a much more achievable health goal. Not only will the extra motivation help someone embrace an elimination diet, but that diet can help jumpstart their new eating regime and can quickly help them feel better. 

When you think of the holidays, think of your and your family’s health!