Why I Started Eating Pizza
Because I can! (For the first time in 30 years!) Whenever pizza was being served, I’d joke, “I would eat it if it weren’t for my tomato or wheat or dairy allergies. Usually that would make people chuckle. Since the early ‘90s I have not eaten those foods, and it was fun to eat pizza recently without an iota of worry about my sinuses, gut, thyroid or skin. It wasn’t just any pizza—it was quality pizza from The Marshal with Italian pizza flour, and local organic cheese, mushrooms and tomatoes. (I confess that despite letting go of a lot of fussiness around food, I remain a “Qualitarian” wanting to avoid GMOs, non-beneficial seed oils, and pesticides.) What made it possible for me to eat wheat, dairy, fungus and nightshades? Being in my Parasympathetic Nervous System. I have a lot of experience in many modalities that supposedly induce relaxation, but none of them caused the epigenetic shift for me to be able to break down histamines or make the enzymes to digest wheat and casein. Until now!
May 2021 marked a full year of practicing Fajardo Method and becoming Parasympathetic enough (50% of the day) that my body could handle more foods. I began with reintroducing dairy, and every day for 21 days had a little bit so my body could get the message that it needed digestive enzymes for milk. Amazingly, I was without the mucous issues I used to get from consuming it. Next I added chicken eggs which used to give me a huge rash around my mouth and debilitating migraines. No problem! What a relief to be able to eat chicken eggs. Do you know how many quail eggs it takes to make anything?! They are a blessing for those allergic to other types of eggs, but boy are they small. Traveling became a lot easier with the addition of yogurt and eggs. Next, I desensitized to cats (to be able to stay with my brother who has a cuddly feline). Every night for 3 weeks prior to my trip, I stopped by a friend’s apartment and petted her cat for a few minutes. After 2 weeks, the itchy eyes, runny nose and coughing stopped happening and I was able to be covered in cat hair without the slightest wheeze. When I realized I wasn’t having an issue with histamines in fermented dairy or eggs, I started eating nightshades and haven’t had any challenges nor do I find them inflammatory or have an issue digesting their lectins. Histamine-containing citrus, berries, and avocados followed without the usual histamine-induced itching. Then beans, black pepper, mushrooms, mustard (contains histaminic vinegar), corn (completely digested as evidenced later, if you get my meaning) and finally (drum roll please!) GLUTEN.
We know that being in fight or flight causes our bodies to shunt blood away from our digestive system to our limbs in order to supply our working muscles. We don’t make the connection, however, that we produce fewer digestive enzymes in fight or flight, and therefore our ability to break down and absorb nutrients from foods decreases (with carbohydrates being the first food group affected). Could this be the reason so many of us are gluten/grain intolerant? After the turnaround my health has made from being in Parasympathetic, I believe that all my intolerances were caused by being stuck in my Sympathetic Nervous System.
Not only did I get all these foods back, but I am no longer allergic to dust. I can clean my own apartment without two days of sneezing and congestion. I also am not reacting to environmental mold which used to give me a cough in humid weather (which is basically 3/4 of the year). Having a functional fascial system that can handle foreign particles without a systemic reaction is a new experience for me. Many people complain that their allergies have gotten worse with age. Mine have disappeared now that my nervous system has regained adaptability based on where I am in the environment gleaned from practicing Two Points of Awareness. Gone are the days where I need to track how many histamine foods are filling up my bucket before my body will have a reaction or needing remedies and supplements to help my body function. The Parasympathetic body functions just fine if our unconscious brain knows where we are and we let it do its job. Thank goodness, and bon appetite!
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