Are You Vulnerable?

Growing up, I thought I was fairly invincible.

This would explain the concussion at age 8, from falling off my bike. (I was trying to stand on the handle bars).

It would also explain the ski accident four years later that put me in a cast for several months.

(While you might still find me on the slopes, I’ve never again skied downhill quite so fast).

When it came to food, I thought I had an iron stomach.

I was extremely proud of the fact that I could eat pretty much anything.

Fast forward a good many years, and things have definitely changed.

In fact, the older I get, the more vulnerable I seem to be.

Is this simply what happens as you get older? Or is there something more going on?

Speaking for myself, these changes are most apparent in my sensitivities to gluten, and various other foods – leading to a rather restricted diet, overall.

Perhaps you’ve found yourself on a similar path.

Suddenly foods that you’ve always loved – and have eaten all your life – no longer agree with you.

How can that be?

Maybe you’ve always known, on some level, that certain foods were best avoided, but you ate them anyway.

Back when many of us were growing up, we didn’t pay much attention to such things.

Your family might have labeled you the ‘sensitive’ one.

But no one actually thought to remove the offending foods from your diet, because they weren’t making the connections.

Did you just happen to become sensitive, overnight?

Or were the signs there all along?

It can be hard to say, because what it really comes down to in the end, is the magical mix of your genes – plus the environment you’ve been exposed to.

And the environment plays a key role!

Case in point, even if you can carry the gene for Celiac disease that doesn’t automatically mean you have a problem, or that you have the disease.

It just means you’re more vulnerable – because the potential for disease is there.

It’s what we call your weakest link – and it’s different, of course, for each and everyone of us.

Lara Adler, an Environmental Toxins Expert, says, “Genetics loads the gun. But the environment pulls the trigger.”

And that’s absolutely true.

These ‘environmental triggers’, by the way – include the foods you eat!

This includes the gluten-containing foods you likely ate for most of your life, until you reached the tipping point.

And suddenly, you were vulnerable.

You discovered your weakest link!

 

Now it’s your turn.

How vulnerable do you think you are to your environment?

Why or why not? 

What, if anything, could you do differently – starting today?