Meet Daina and her son Jacob

“My son was constantly complaining of stomach pains, feeling nauseous and suffered from headaches; as a result, he was missing a lot of school and extra-curricular activities. He described his discomfort as sharp pains in his stomach, feeling like he was going to vomit and his symptoms got worse after every meal. His symptoms were stopping him from eating, learning, playing and taking part in daily activities. We had been to several doctors but never found a solution for him.”

Unfortunately this scenario is all too common in children nowadays, with food allergies increasing by 18% between 1997 and 2007.
Food sensitivities are seldom recognized by the main stream medical community, which leaves many parents feeling frustrated and angry not knowing what to do to help their children.

“Feeling desperate and overwhelmed I reached out to Karen Martel. This call literally changed our son’s life.”

Food allergies versus food sensitivities

The body can have different immune responses when it comes to food allergies but symptoms are often quick, and can be life threatening. The most common example is a peanut allergy with the body responding by going into anaphylactic shock. Often, food sensitivities can be more subtle and may take days to show up and in various ways.

7 signs of food sensitivities in children

1. Chronic headaches or migraines

2. Skin rashes example: eczema, hives, acne

3. Frequent stomach ache

4. Behavior problems example; child is prone to anxiety, anger, tantrums

5. Problems with concentration example: ADD and ADHD

6. Frequent infections example: ear and throat infections

7. Insomnia example has a hard time settling down to go to sleep

How to test for food sensitivities

The food elimination diet

My top recommendation for clients is to do a food elimination diet. This means removing the most common foods that create inflammation from their diet for a few weeks and then gradually add each food back in one at a time, observing reactions and symptoms. Top inflammatory foods include; eggs, gluten, dairy, soy and corn.

IGG food sensitivity blood test

Contact a local Naturopath and ask for an IgG food sensitivity blood test. This will help determine what foods your child could be sensitive to.

“After one consultation and two weeks of following the program Karen designed for our son, everything changed. He never complains of stomach pain or headaches anymore and has not missed one day of school or soccer practice since he has been following the program. He has a lot more energy and is so much happier now that he feels good.It was challenging in the beginning to find certain foods that he liked to eat and still fit within the constraints of the diet. Our family has gone through changes in the way that we eat and prepare meals. However,these changes have been well worth it and a learning experience that has benefited our whole family.To put it simply my son said “I used to always feel sick. Now, I never feel sick.” This has been a huge relief for us as parents. I am so grateful to Karen for helping my son when it felt like no one could.” Daina