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.

How did that happen? Perhaps you’ve even noticed this in yourself – and your seemingly ‘sudden’ sensitivities to gluten, and other foods – which have led you to a somewhat restricted diet.

Why would the foods you’ve always loved – and have eaten all your life – no longer agree with you?

You may have always known, on some level, that certain foods just didn’t agree with you, but you did as you were told and ate them anyway.

Back when many of us were growing up, not too many people were paying attention to such things. Rather, your family might have labeled you the ‘sensitive’ one.

No one 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?

Research now tells us, is that disease begin DECADES before symptoms manifest – by targeting what’s referred to as your ‘Weakest Link’ – which refers to the terrain in which your genes reside.

In other words, it’s the toxic environment – both within your body and outside of it – that causes an illness manifest. What it really comes down to is the magical mix of your genes, plus the environment you’ve been exposed to.

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

And that’s absolutely true.

This dance between a person’s genome (the variants in your genes that may or may not manifest, or ‘express’) and the surrounding environment is called epigenetic; the list of potential triggers includes:

• Food (especially inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy & sugar)
• Additives & Preservatives
• GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms)
• Pesticides & Herbicides
• Antibiotics & other Drugs
• BPA, PFOA’s or Flame Retardants in your Furniture, carpets & more
• Chemicals in your Toiletries & Cosmetics

This is WHY a seemingly health promoting food isn’t necessarily great for everyone – since it’s not looking at you, as an individual or considering your unique needs.

Case in point – let’s say you carry a gene that makes you genetically vulnerable to Celiac Disease. This does not mean you will undoubtedly develop this condition – it only means there’s an increased likelihood. (If you never ate gluten your entire life, you would never develop the disease – because gluten is the trigger).

However, if you grew up eating gluten-containing foods (same as most of us), and you’ve consumed those foods your entire life, the odds are high that you will eventually reach your ‘tipping point‘ – where your body decides it’s had enough.

Gluten doesn’t have to be the trigger, by the way – but more often than not, it is.

Whether your weakest link is your thyroid, your digestive system, your joints – or even your brain – that’s where symptoms will show up first, because your body is simply more vulnerable.

It’s your weakest link.

To learn more, & receive the most up-to-date, in-depth information regarding all things related to Gluten Sensitivity, Autoimmune Disease, Inflammation & more – be sure to watch my educational video series “A Gluten Primer – Everything You Wanted to Know From A – Z“. It’s available FREE on my bi-weekly newsletter, but you can have immediate access to all 26 videos – plus a full, 2-hour Tutorial here.