Health Food Stores Battle Food Allergies

At health food stores, customers are complaining about food allergies more often now with statements like, "I can't eat this", or "I can't eat that." Why do so many people, especially those who frequent health food stores, believe they have food allergies? It's funny, I've never heard anyone say, "I'm allergic to coffee, cookies, cakes, popcorn, pizza or candy", and yet these are things that people ingest regularly without a second thought. So, what's up with all these health food store shoppers who have food allergies?

Food allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to a protein molecule in the offending food. This can happen even with those who stick to food from health food stores. The body is unable to break down that particular protein molecule, so it reacts by trying to "get rid of it". It produces a chemical called 'histamine' and symptoms appear in the form of rashes, hives, itching, wheezing, breathing problems, and lots of mucus being expelled through the mouth, nose, ears, lungs, or sexual organs. More serious reactions from food allergies are: vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness, drop in blood pressure, or even death.

Intolerance to certain foods is different than true food allergies, and this is a more common complaint at health food stores. With food intolerances like lactose intolerance, where a person has difficulty breaking down the sugar in the milk, the symptoms are much milder. One may have some bloating, excess gas, cramping or diarrhea. While food intolerance is unpleasant, it is not life threatening like food allergies can be in some severe cases. The usual distresses are intolerances to wheat, soy, dairy and anything at health food stores that the shopper feels is too expensive.

The question that customers at health food stores ought to ask is not, "What food am I allergic to?" But rather, "Why is my immune system reacting to what should be health food?"

When determining specific food allergies and intolerances, some factors to consider are:
1. What is the trigger food?
2. When am I eating the trigger food?
3. Am I improperly combining fruits and vegetables or grains or meat and dairy?

The list can be quite exhaustive to hunt down the offending trigger food and how it is being consumed. In fact, most food allergy experts will tell you to keep a diary of everything you eat, and when you find the trigger food to just avoid eating it. Well, that sounds simple, but if you react to many things, including those that should be health food, it's not so simple? Of course, you can eliminate the most common triggers to food allergies like: corn, wheat, eggs, dairy, and peanuts, but if that doesn't work, then what? The truth is, your immune system can overreact to many substances. The best way to address food allergies is to strengthen your immune system and get in balance with all the systems of the body. Shop health food stores for specific foods to feed your 5 main systems equally: immune, endocrine, digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. This may be difficult at typical health food stores, but searching online will produce results.

When you feed all your body parts with healthy, whole food nutrients, and eliminate the fake, processed foods in your life, your 5 systems can come into a perfectly natural balance. Then you can eat what you know you should be eating. It is better to strengthen the body's systems with properly combined health food and ward off illness and disease the natural way. When you consume the right nutrients, the body operates at optimum levels for a more relaxed, healthy life. You have access to so much good nutrition at health food stores and plenty of options for avoiding food allergies or intolerances that it's a shame to limit your choices unnecessarily.

Cliff Smith is the owner of an online health food store specializing in properly combined, concentrated whole food formulas that nourish, cleanse and balance the body. Many of his customers have overcome their food allergies and intolerances with health foods that are not sold in typical retail stores. Visitors to the online store are encouraged to take the free alkaline food test, request catalogs, sample products, and discover more nutrition facts.

Can You Purchase Medifast Shakes in Grocery Stores, Health Food Stores, Or Pharmacies?

From all of the emails I get and from my lurking on many weight loss forums and support groups, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Medifast shakes are the most asked about liquid product out there.  Not only is this product filling, good tasting, and pretty convenient, there's a certain mystery and misconception that seems to surround it.  I get a lot of questions that ask which stores keep these in stock or routinely sell these items.  I'll go over this topic in the following article.

If you've found this article, you probably have already tried to find these products on store or pharmacy shelves.  Maybe you've even ventured to a health food store or two or have even tried the yellow pages or local directories.  It's probably very likely that you have not been successful.  The reason for this is that the company does not distribute the products through third parties. 

With that said, there are some clinics scattered though out the world, but many people do not have one of these close by.  I never have.  The closest clinic to me is hours away.  The waste of gas and time would not make this very feasible or even sensible since it's really easy and quick for me to place an order online.  They will typically ship the order the same day so you don't have to wait all that long to receive it. In my opinion, having to order and ship the product from the company is not at all a deal breaker.  They are worth the wait and, in my experience, are much more effective and healthful than anything that you can get in the grocery store

I also feel compelled to tell you that there are many different types of Medifast shakes available.  Examples are appetite suppression, diabetic, women's health, metabolism boosting, and joint health, to name some of the more popular.  When many people ask me about these products, many are interested in the ready to drink variety that don't require mixing.  People really are attracted to the convenience of these and they are pretty good, but I would venture to say that the most popular option are the 55 shakes.  These do require mixing, but this literally takes seconds and you can control the texture and consistency more.  The 55's are often included in the monthly packages and are part of the five plus one plan.

Speaking of the 5 plus 1, you may know this already, but the diet has many more choices in addition to the shakes.  There are also soups and chili, breakfast foods, snacks, and other drink options, to name a few. There are well over 70 choices and all of the foods / liquids contain roughly the same amounts of calories, carbs, and protein.  So, although the shakes are really popular and really good, there are other options that might give you a little more variety.

You can order any of the food choices individually or as part of a package. Typically, coupons and specials are only offered with the packages, but the incentives do change from time to time.

Want more information on all of the diet's shakes or other foods? Lindsey's Medifast Review Website features recipes, a list of all of the foods (including all of the shake varieties and choices), videos, tips, coupons ($50 off or two weeks free),information and products related to success on this diet. She also offers a free ebook ("Getting The Most Out Of Medifast") to help you get started. You can visit her at http://easiest-diet.com/

Todays Health Food Stores: There May Be Nothing There For You Anymore

Health food stores are emerging at a rapid rate across the country. They are expanding their numbers increasingly. Many health food stores are worker owned cooperatives and consumers' cooperatives due in part to their growth of popularity during the counter culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the ability of cooperative buying power to bring lower costs to the consumer.

Products

Regulators need to consider regulations to better protect vulnerable patients from incurring significant costs due to their purchasing of natural health food products lacking evidence of benefit and of questionable safety. GNC has its own line of homeopathic products as well as natural herbs. The recent boom in health food stores has provided an enormous variety of high quality products that are heads above the processed junk loaded with preservatives currently sold in today's super markets. In addition to the wider array of health food products, health food stores are often a good source of milk substitutes, cruelty-free cosmetics, bulk grains, nuts and seeds, organic fruits and vegetables, non-toxic cookware, vegetarian meat substitutes, non-dairy cheese alternatives, fat-free natural pastries, and fast-food delis.

Organic

Don't assume that chickens or eggs in health food stores are raised on pasture or are fed organic feed. It is more labor intensive on pasture and organic feed costs twice as much. Therefore, many suppliers use wording that gives the impression of pasture or organic to increase their sales and selling price.

Supplements

A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. The employees in health food stores differ widely in how much they know about supplements and what they can do. A health food store might also sell herbal supplements, dietary aids, body care items and many more products that might help you lead a healthier lifestyle.

Sugar

Most health-food store owners would steadfastly refuse to carry coffee, regular tea and chocolate because of the caffeine and would not sell baked goods made with sugar or white flour. But Herb Ferleger, who owns "Food for Thought" as well as "Capitol Health Foods" on New York Avenue in Huntington, has a different attitude. The health-food pastry's greatest claim to superiority is that it is, according to the label, ''sweetened with fruit juice,'' as if that were better than sugar, corn syrup or honey. They don't taste very good, especially if you've come off of a standard Western diet high in refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, white flour, and so on. "The main thing you want to look out for in juices is that you are getting a lot of true juice and not a lot of sugar. Some things disguised as juice can have quite a lot of sugar," Anderson warns. Health food stores are notorious for disguising sugar with many fancy-sounding names like cane juice and cane syrup and honey -- these are all sweeteners and are no better than sugar.

Research

Researchers posing as typical consumers found employees of these stores readily giving information and product recommendations. The researchers found that, health food stores are recommending a variety of products. Early research suggested that antioxidants could be helpful in preventing heart disease, but newer research has called that theory into question. He emphasized patients should also take responsibility for researching how other remedies could affect their treatment.

Vegetarian

Health food stores often offer foods that attract people with special diets, such as people with wheat and gluten allergies, diabetics, vegans, vegetarians, and raw foodists. In addition to the wider array of health food products, health food stores are often a good source of milk substitutes, cruelty-free cosmetics, bulk grains, nuts and seeds, organic fruits and vegetables, non-toxic cookware, vegetarian meat substitutes, non-dairy cheese alternatives, fat-free natural pastries, and fast-food delis. A lot of health food stores have special products for individuals on special diets, such as gluten-free diets as well as vegan and vegetarian food. "Being vegetarian is not necessary, but if you choose that lifestyle you can get a lot of benefits.

This article was written by Jim Swank. For more information on health and nutrition, go to Jim`s website at: http://www.healthandbizguru.com

Jim Swank has been in the health care field for a number of years. His particular area of expertise is Health and Nutrition. He has a special interest in sharing how nutrition can help those with learning disabilities. For more information on health, fitness and nutrition, go to his website at: http://www.healthandbizguru.com