Conditioned Food Sensitivity

Health psychology focuses on how biological, social and psychological factors influence all aspects of health. However, many people are reluctant to see a health psychologist because the recommendation can sound like, “Your symptoms are in your head” or “Your symptoms are caused by stress; just relax, and you will feel better.” This is such a prevalent problem that I wanted to learn more about this field and explore the difference between health psychology and general mental health counselling. We are fortunate to have Dr. Megan Riehl on the podcast today to explain the difference. Dr. Megan Riehl is a GI psychologist who is a key opinion leader in the area of psychogastroenterology. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Clinical Director of GI behavioral health at the University of Michigan. She is also the Director of Behavioral Health Services and Support for GI OnDemand. Dr. Riehl's clinical research focuses on the delivery of GI behavioral health treatment for patients with disorders of the gut-brain and IBD. Dr. Riehl participates on several national committees dedicated to research and education to enhance the psychosocial functioning of patients with gastrointestinal problems. Together with expert GI dietitian Kate Scarlata, she has co-authored a new book for those living with IBS – Mind Your Gut. Mind Your Gut is available in March 2024. Learn more here.

Food sensitivity is rarely a simple cause and effect. Biological and psychological factors interplay to produce symptoms. We will talk about the role of symptom expectancy (i.e., nocebo response) in exacerbating symptom severity and how minimizing expectancy can dramatically improve quality of life. Dr. Simons is a GI psychologist in the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and specializes in treating motility related gastrointestinal conditions. She is particularly interested in the precipitants and consequences of dietary modification in digestive disease and the overlap between gynecologic and gastrointestinal conditions. Listeners can contact Dr. Simons via email at simonsm3@ccf.org.

We will discuss how signals between the gut and the brain (gut-brain access) become amplified in irritable bowel syndrome and strategies for calming this communication. The brain similarly communicates with other body parts, so the concepts and strategies apply to symptoms throughout the body. Joanna Baker is a Dietitian & a Nurse who loves food. Her passion for digestive health stems from a long history of living with gut problems. Joanna knows first-hand how debilitating gut problems can be, but also how much better life is when its well managed. At Everyday Nutrition she works with a team of amazing dietitians who love to support people to resolve digestive issues and make peace with food.

When there is no clear treatment path for your symptoms, you may feel lost or confused by the contradicting treatment options. The frustration often leads to not doing anything (being stuck) or jumping from one thing to the next. Amy will talk about her journey exploring one road at a time. Amy Slabaugh is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in intuitive eating and the dietary management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In my practice, I love working with people to foster a positive relationship with food and learn to nourish their bodies in a way that promotes health. For those who are experiencing adverse reactions in response to food, my goal is to help you work toward minimizing your symptoms and improving your quality of life. Providing counseling for clients as they work through the FAST Freedom Program is a great way to do this. You can reach Amy at AmySlabaugh.com.

You are probably familiar with the vicious cycle of food avoidance leading to additional sensitivities. Dr. Burton Murray will share her clinical experience, and research showing this cycle can be reversed! She describes avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and how cognitive behaviour therapy can help patients regain a full quality of life. Dr. Helen Burton Murray is the Director of GI Behavioral Health in the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Neurointestinal Health. Dr. Burton Murray specializes in psychogastroenterology, specifically in the intersection of gastrointestinal conditions and eating disorders. She has a particular expertise in the treatment of rumination syndrome and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.  To learn more about the GI behavioural Health clinic at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Neurointestinal Health, please call 617-726-5565.

When patients do not have a diagnosis and concrete management plan for their symptoms, they typically feel helpless and out of control. Johannah Ruddy shares her story of working with Dr. Drossman to take charge of her health. Subscribe to receive a  summary of the valuable tips after each episode. Get off the elimination diet roller coaster, rebuild your food trust and expand your diet with support from the FAST Freedom Program. Johannah is a doctoral student in the School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences at Campbell University and her research is focused on the impact of stigma in chronic illness and gender based health care inequalities. She is also the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Rome Foundation. In addition to her professional experience, she is a digestive health patient and patient advocate. Dr. Douglas Drossman is trained in both gastroenterology and psychiatry. He is professor emeritus of medicine and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, President Emeritus and chief executive officer of the Rome Foundation and president of the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care and DrossmanCare. Dr. Drossman and Johannah have co-authored two books in their Gut Feelings Series: Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction and the Patient-Doctor Relationship and The Patient's Story. Personal Accounts of the Illness Journey.

Language around food sensitivities is often black-and-white, and foods get labelled as "safe" or "unsafe." Dédé Wilson and I will talk about the impact of this black-and-white approach. Softening your language can change your relationship with food and make space for freedom. Subscribe to receive a summary of the valuable tips after each episode. Get off the elimination diet roller coaster, rebuild your food trust and expand your diet with support from the FAST Freedom Program. Dédé Wilson, co-founder of the low FODMAP resource website FODMAP Everyday®  is a Monash University trained and FODMAP Friendly Accredited FODMAP diet educator, who lives with irritable bowel syndrome herself. She is also a professional recipe developer and author of The Low FODMAP Diet Step-by-Step and devotes her time to helping others learn to THRIVE on the low FODMAP diet. She will help you learn how to become IBS symptom-free - while eating deliciously. You can connect with Dédé through the contact us box on the home page of FODMAP Everyday .

Food and health struggles can drain your body's energy - leaving you feeling weak, helpless and frustrated. Lisa Marie Rankin will share self-care rituals and practices to re-energize and strengthen your ojas. Start 2023 on the right track with Lisa's inspiring tips! Lisa Marie Rankin is an author, teacher, and Ayurvedic wellness coach. She helps women heal their bodies and ignite their feminine power so they can live with health, radiance, and inspiration. Visit her website at LisaMarieRankin.com.  Lisa is offering listeners free registration to her Ayurveda Essentials mini-course. You'll learn how to use Ayurveda principles and practices in your everyday life to increase your energy, beat belly bloat, and stress less. You'll also learn your Aryuvedic mind and body type, and get a dinacharya (daily routine) checklist.

When done properly, elimination diets can be extremely beneficial. Unfortunately, most people approach elimination diets haphazardly and jeopardize their long-term physical and mental health. I will discuss my top nine tips for planning and working through systematic diet elimination. With a career spanning 30 years, Wendy has had the privilege of working with and learning from hundreds of food-sensitive clients. Her passion is creating engaging online programs to help clients struggling with restricted eating rebuild their body and food trust and expand their diet. As an expert in food hypersensitivities, Wendy has spoken at many national conferences and has sat on the medical advisory committees of non-profit organizations.

Retraining your brain is a common buzzword these days. But what exactly does it mean and how does it apply to food sensitivities? Simone Albert will share her insights on the overlap between fear and food reactions and how to change these automatic reactions.   Simone is the principle counsellor and founder of Food Allergy Counselling in Australia. She's a registered counsellor, registered nurse, author and mum of two teenagers living with allergies. She provides support, guidance and evidence-based strategies and techniques to families and individuals navigating the psychological life transition that comes with a new chronic condition diagnosis. Her book Beyond the Allergy Diagnosis is available through Amazon. It is an exceptionally good book and I would recommend it to anyone living with anaphylactic food allergy.

Traumatic experiences associated with food can quickly pull us into the FAST and lead to conditioned food sensitivity. Makena Osborne shares a scary event that she recently went through and how she navigated through the fear. Makena is a student at the University of British Columbia, majoring in psychology! She models internationally (Paris Fashion Week, Vancouver Fashion Week, Western Canada Fashion Week and modelling for clothing companies around Canada). Currently, she lives in Kelowna, British Columbia and works part-time at Saje Natural Wellness.

Shame - an inevitable part of chronic illness - can be a roadblock to recovery. Johannah shares the impact of shame on her health and how she found the courage to move past it. In addition to softening her symptoms, this journey has positively influenced every aspect of her life.   Johannah has a master’s degree in education and a career in non-profit management. She is also the executive director of the Rome Foundation and secretary-treasurer for the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care. In addition to her professional experience, she is a digestive health patient and patient advocate. She is a co-author of the book, Gut Feelings: Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) and the Patient-Doctor Relationship. Contact her through Twitter @johannahruddy.

I discuss five key points to help you reflect on this crucial question. I challenge black-and-white misperceptions about sensitivities and offer listeners a different perspective on how to approach food and their health.

When you have sensitivities, food can dominate your life. Batch cooking may be the answer to help you spend less time thinking about food or working in the kitchen. Kathlena (aka The Allergy Chef) tells us how batch cooking can bring time, financial, emotional and mental freedom. You can reach Kathlena through her website TheAllergyChef.com.

Audrey has been a FAST Freedom coach for six months and has done a fantastic job helping her clients move past their restricted diet struggles. She shares inspiring stories and examples of what changes have made the most significant difference in her clients' lives. Audrey is an IBS specialist dietitian, co-author of The 28-Day Plan for IBS Relief: 100 Low FODMAP Recipes to Soothe Your Symptoms of IBS, and FAST Freedom practitioner. Many people with IBS or unexplained symptoms have unnecessarily stopped eating many of the foods that they love. Audrey coaches her clients to help relieve their symptoms and rebuild confidence in food again. You can find her at www.ibsnutrition.com.

Depression is common for those suffering from food sensitivities or mysterious symptoms. I will discuss the reasons for this connection and strategies to get out of the rut and live a full life.

Johannah tells her moving story of feeling helpless when every doctor dismissed her symptoms. Eventually, she withdrew from the medical system and assumed her only option was to live with her debilitating symptoms. Luckily, Johannah met Dr. Drossman and learned that her symptoms stemmed from a previous food poisoning incident that led to disordered gut-brain communication. She worked with Dr. Drossman to create a management plan that addressed her body and brain. Johannah has a master’s degree in education and a career in non-profit management. She is also the executive director of the Rome Foundation and secretary-treasurer for the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care. In addition to her professional experience, she is a digestive health patient and patient advocate. Dr. Douglas Drossman is trained in both gastroenterology and psychiatry. He is professor emeritus of medicine and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, professor emeritus and chief of operations of the Rome Foundation and president of the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care and DrossmanCare. Dr. Drossman and Johannah are co-authors of two books Gut Feelings - Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction and the Patient-Doctor Relationship and the second book which will be coming out in the near future Gut Feelings - The Patient Story.

Communicating with your doctor can be challenging – especially if your symptoms are difficult to explain and there is no straightforward treatment. Patients often feel disrespected and shut down during their appointments. However, a supportive partnership with your doctor is possible. Dr. Drossman will share his insightful tips from his book Gut Feelings - Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction and the Patient-Doctor Relationship: A Guide for Patients and Doctors. Dr. Douglas Drossman is trained in both gastroenterology and psychiatry. He is professor emeritus of medicine and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, professor emeritus and chief of operations of the Rome Foundation and president of the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care and DrossmanCare.

Dr. Drossman explains how we need to look at the big picture when searching for the cause of distressing symptoms (i.e. disorders of the gut-brain interaction). For example, when patients focus exclusively on the role of food, they may miss the treatments that are most likely to help them get back to a good quality of life. Dr. Douglas Drossman is trained in both gastroenterology and psychiatry. He is professor emeritus of medicine and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, professor emeritus and chief of operations of the Rome Foundation and president of the center for education and practice of biopsychosocial care and DrossmanCare. Additionally, Dr. Drossman has co-authored the book, Gut Feelings: Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) and the Patient-Doctor Relationship.

Shelly answers one of my burning questions about the benefits of observing the breath vs regulating it. She takes us through a meditation to encourage longer, smoother and softer breathing (but not necessarily deep). This practice can help calm the nervous system, decrease hypervigilance and minimize a variety of physical or mental health symptoms. Shelly also explains that "deep" breathing can sometimes lead to over-breathing with the upper chest and neck muscles, which can activate the sympathetic nervous system and may be counterproductive for some people.   Shelly is a physiotherapist, yoga therapist, author, educator, and pioneer of PhysioYoga with over 23 years of experience integrating yoga into physiotherapy and specializes in areas of chronic pain, pelvic health, and professional burnout. She lectures at physiotherapy and yoga programs, contributes to research, presents at conferences globally, provides mentorship for professionals, and offers courses and resources for healthcare professionals and the general population. Shelly has authored book chapters in rehabilitation textbooks and is the co-editor/author of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain. She maintains a clinical practice in Sylvan Lake, Canada and believes compassion is the foundation of healthcare. Visit www.physioyoga.ca to learn more.   www.physioyoga.ca and on social media: Instagram & Twitter: @proskoyoga FB page: Prosko PhysioYoga Therapy