Bizarre Treatments I’ve Tried to Manage Food Allergies

We have all been there: feeling hopeless and lost when you can't seem to find answers or improvement for your food allergies. It can be daunting and even scary. You want to know what is going on with your body. And most importantly, you want relief.

A summary of my food allergy journey

I have food allergies along with Crohn's Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I was inundated with an extensive list of foods I had to stay away from when diagnosed in 2011. For me, my allergic reactions were all in the gut. I would vomit, have terrible acid reflux, horrific abdominal pain, cramping, and diarrhea. Sometimes these allergic reactions lasted for hours just because I ate a food that I was allergic to.

I became frustrated with all this suffering, seeing no improvement in my symptoms or even receiving much empathy. I started reaching out to others to try anything to see if I could get relief or the slightest bit of improvement in my food allergies. 

Unconventional treatment methods for food allergies

Have you been there before? Sometimes you are so desperate for answers or solutions you are willing to try anything once. I certainly felt this way. I sought out complementary and alternative therapies for food allergies. Many of these techniques listed below are not backed by much research regarding the benefits and risks of each. Always consult a trusted medical provider before trying any treatments for allergies.

Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Techniques

Have you heard of NAET? It stands for Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Techniques. But, the technique is a little strange. Essentially, you hold vials of the foods you are allergic to, and when I mean vials, I mean little glass tubes containing the actual substance you want to correct your allergic response to.

For example, I always had to work on my allergy to wheat. So, the NAET practitioner would give me a vial with wheat particles in it, and then as it was in my hand, she would tap specific pressure points, which meant to "re-wire" my nervous system to stop making an adverse reaction to wheat. I know it's bizarre! Then the practitioner would tap my spine with a small machine. After treatment, I had to stay away from wheat for 3 to 4 days, and supposedly my body would not react to it anymore.

I did get results from this technique, but unfortunately, the results didn't last long-term. However, I had relief for a few months. I will admit it was nice to have a piece of bread again. But after some months, the allergies did return.

Food desensitization techniques

Here's another unconventional therapy method. It is similar to NAET but slightly different. I consulted with a practitioner who did food desensitization for allergies. Food desensitization is similar to NAET, but instead of holding a vial of your allergy, you bring in a piece of the food that causes you issues. My food allergy list was huge, so I showed up with tons of plastic baggies filled with little bits of chicken, cheese, ketchup, mustard, bread, etc.

The practitioner would lay the food on my stomach and tap on specific pressure points. I had to stay away from the food for about a week before trying any. Again, I felt relief from many allergies for a bit, then in a month or 2, things crept back, and the allergies would be rampant again.

Celery juice

Lastly, this was random, but I tried drinking 16 ounces of celery juice on an empty stomach every morning to help ease food allergies. This technique worked well for me!

It didn't cure my allergies, but I found I was able to tolerate more foods than when I wouldn't drink the juice. The caveat with this was that I had to be consistent with drinking celery juice every day. If I stopped drinking the juice, my allergies would return.

Food allergies can be tiring

With ever-changing food allergies, a wide range of symptoms, and varying severity of allergic reactions, finding a treatment solution for food allergies that is right for you can take much time, effort, and energy.

How about you? Have you tried any bizarre treatments to help with your allergies?