Are you like many other athletes who suffer from intestinal problems during competition? For all too many competitors, symptoms such as abdominal pain, gas, cramping, bloating and diarrhea are unwelcome, yet nearly constant training and racing companions. Food allergies are a very common cause of these symptoms. If you’re allergic to the foods that you eat during training and competition, the intestinal symptoms of allergic reactions can hamper your performance. Many popular sports nutrition products contain common food allergy triggers. For example, sports drinks and gels, such as Power Bar products, contain maltodextrin, which is a corn-based sugar. Clif Shot Bloks contain brown rice syrup, cane juice and coconut. Accelerade, another popular sports drink, contains whey, a milk-based protein. In addition, many products contain less obvious food exposures, such as Lecithin, which is often derived from soy. If you are allergic to any of the ingredients in your sports nutrition products, consuming them during activity could be the culprit for your race day, intestinal woes. Food allergy testing can be a very helpful tool for any athlete who struggles with intestinal problems. A simple blood test can help you identify your food allergies. Then, those results can be used to select products that don’t contain your allergic foods. Reducing your food allergy exposure can eliminate those intestinal problems. As a result, the body spends less energy mounting needless allergic reactions. More energy is then available for hard-working muscles to move the body forward. Neil Smith, Physician Assistant-Certified, Former Allergy Sufferer Allergy Solutions Clinic www.ColoradoAllergySolutions.com
And Ragweed allergy season is upon us…..Have your allergy symptoms (runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat) worsened this week? If so, its likely due to the very high ragweed and other late summer weed pollens.
Check out this week’s Pollen.com report.
At Allergy Solutions, we specialize in making your Ragweed allergies go away, for good!
Here’s some Ragweed information from Pollen.com:
Ragweed, Burr-ragweed (Ambrosia)
Ragweed, Burr-ragweed Genus Details
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Ragweed, Burr-ragweed Allergy Info
Ragweed, Burr-ragweed Pollen Description
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Managing food allergies is often most difficult when traveling to visit family and friends. I was reminded of this last weekend as I traveled to northern Minnesota with my wife’s father and brothers for our annual walleye fishing tournament. This trip is as fun and relaxing as a weekend with the in-laws can be. This year was no exception. However, there was a new twist: my food allergies.
Back in January, I discovered that I’m allergic to many foods that I was frequently eating. Avoiding gluten, soy, dairy and eggs while visiting the northern heartland is about as easy as avoiding rice in Tokyo. And the last thing that I wanted was to feel like a high-maintenance person who can’t eat anything and constantly makes special food requests. However, eating those foods makes me feel sick, so its worth the effort to find suitable alternatives.
All in all, I did pretty well avoiding my allergic foods without unnecessarily burdening my in-laws. I discovered a few helpful tips to help you stay healthy and allergy-free on your next vacation.
1. Communicate your food needs in advance of the trip. If you’re not buying your own food, its a good idea to send a shopping list ahead of time. If your relatives are like mine, they are very accommodating people who are willing to bend over backwards to accommodate you. However, most people just aren’t familiar with the impact of food allergies. Also, they may not be up to speed on suitable food alternatives.
2. Bring your own food. Alternative foods like gluten-free beer, pancake mix and bread along with non-dairy coffee creamers and milk alternatives are novelty items in many parts of the country. Don’t count on being able to find them at the local grocery store.
3. Just say “No!” Those foods that you haven’t eaten in 6 months will look delicious and the fact that they’re “off-limits” them makes them even more tempting. Prepare a mental game plan in advance so that when you’re staring at your favorite cheese cake, full of ingredients that will mess up your guts or make your skin go hay-wire, you can say no and choose a healthy alternative.
4. Plan for damage control: Sometimes, despite our best intentions and efforts, a problem food finds its way down the gullet. Bring some allergy medications along such as steroid cream for your eczema, oral antihistamines for those hay fever flare-ups. Also, digestive enzymes taken in advance of eating a problem food. Be sure to carry an Epi-pen if you have severe or life-threatening allergic reactions to foods. These items can take the edge off your symptoms and help salvage the vacation.
5. Consider allergy drops therapy. The drops limit impact and increase the likelihood of eventually outgrowing your food allergies.
It is possible to travel and visit friends and family without eating the foods you’re allergic to. With a little planning and preparation, you can enjoy your travels without worsening your allergy symptoms.
-Neil Smith, PA-C
If you ask Novak Djokovic, the professional tennis player, currently on a 39-match win streak, the answer would be a resounding yes. At Allergy Solutions we offer testing for Gluten and many other foods that commonly cause food allergy. While we can’t promise that diagnosing food allergies will rocket you to the top of your sport, avoiding your allergic foods can have a dramatic impact on your athletic performance.
The tree pollen levels on the pollen.com website, continue to be very high. The result for many is runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat…..those pesky hay fever symptoms.
Some good news: Allergy Solutions can bring you long-term relief, without shots!!!
With allergy drops therapy, we use the same allergen extracts that are used in allergy shots. However, the drops are taken under the tongue instead, which is much safer. The result when drops are taken as recommended is long-term allergy relief.
Just this week, I saw my valued patient, Alejandrina, who mentioned that she’s already experiencing marked relief. She just started the drops 6 months ago and here we are, in the middle of high tree-pollen season.
Your allergy cure is now as simple as a drop under the tongue.
The first pollen.com alerts of the spring occurred this week, indicating high levels of cedar, juniper and elm tree pollens. There’s no need to suffer, we can help you get rid of your allergies for good….without shots!!!
Allergy Drops therapy works best if taken three times per day, according to this recent article in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, Immunology. It seems that taking allergy drops three times per day helps the immune system to tolerate allergens more quickly. It makes sense, right? The more often an allergen is encountered in the body, the more likely it is to be recognized as normal. At Allergy Solutions, we’ve certainly observed that patients who consistently take their drops three times per day seem to feel better faster than patients who aren’t as consistent with their drops. When taking allergy drops, consider a protocol that uses a three times per day dosage, rather than just one time per day.
Allergy Solutions
2010 is rapidly coming to a close. Has your insurance deductbile been met for the year? If so, now is a great time for an allergy evaluation before the deductible resets in January. Take advantage of our end of year special: 20% off your initial supply of Allergy Drops therapy (for new patients only). Allergy testing and visit costs are covered by insurance and we accept almost every insurance plan.
We still have appointments available in 2010. Call 303-448-8852 to schedule.
Happy Holidays from Allergy Solutions!
The safety of Allergy Drops Therapy is a well-known feature of this highly effective allergy therapy. Another recent study further cements the safety of this therapy: http://wenku.baidu.com/view/ed60801cfad6195f312ba692.html
This means that even when the dosing of allergy drops is increased in a very rapid manner, it is still a very safe. For this reason, allergy drops can be taken at home with little worry of serious reactions. This is in contrast to allergy shots, which need to be administered in the office for fear of serious, life-threatening allergic reactions.
At Allergy Solutions, the dosing we offer is considered a “low-dose” therapy and the concentration is escalated very slowly. This method further adds to the safety factor, while still delivering highly effective, time-proven allergy relief.
Join Neil Smith, allergy treatment specialistand owner of Allergy Solutions for a conversation about allergies and allergy drops therapy.
- November 16, Tuesday, 6:30pm
Red Frog Coffee, 15 Ken Pratt Blvd Suite 200, Longmont, CO 80501
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