Sore this morning? Don’t always blame it on your work out.

This morning I woke up all swollen with aches and pains in every part of my body…pudgy fingers that look like stubs and bags under my eyes complete the picture. “What did I do to myself now!” was the question I asked. I thought for a second and then immediately got an answer.

Long story short, I came home late last night, starving and exhausted from a very long and stressful day. With no desire to cook, I reached for the bag of organic, gluten-free, mostly corn chips my daughter had just brought home and ate a few…a few more…and a few more.  No, it wasn’t the entire bag, but I did some damage. Since they were gluten free, I wasn’t thinking about any dangers that could be lurking inside the innocent looking package. Up until this point, I was completely corn free because I suspected that it may be an issue.  Having Celiac’s Disease, I am very familiar with the inflammatory response that certain foods can cause. Corn is a difficult allergen to determine though. It is in just about EVERYTHING we eat (See the movie King Corn if you want to get the real scoop), which is why I was avoiding anything processed.

Teaching Power Yoga this morning is going to be torture, but thankfully, the damage isn’t permanent. I will now avoid all corn in the future, but today I work through it in the studio, then l drink lots of fluids and take in some earth energy later on by pulling weeds in the dirt. (Don’t underestimate the relief you can get from nature and its electro-magnetic effect on your cells!)

If you have intermittent joint pain or muscle aches, don’t automatically convince yourself it is your work out. It may actually be your body’s response to any number of known allergens. Although you may not have a true allergy, you could have an intolerance, and that is where the inflammatory response comes in. Rather than go into the science, think of any food as a potential invader that could attack your body. If your body doesn’t like the food, it responds by fighting back, and we all know, war is ugly.

There are lots of other symptoms caused by intolerances—everything from acne and fatigue, to chronic rhinitis and hormone imbalances. Please do your research, or contact me with questions. An intolerance causes discomfort in your body, but discomfort can lead to disease. It is worth investigating!