For this series on What a Naturopath Does, I am working with K6 Wellness in Dallas. My son is being treated free of cost so that you can see how a naturopath works and know what to expect when visiting a naturopath. I am learning a ton and hope you do too!

We’re back from our second visit to Sharon, naturopath at K6 Wellness, as we continue to work on Little Sir’s tummy/digestion issues. For the last few weeks, we have been on a food avoidance diet. It has been really difficult, but with a naturopath food sensitivity diet is the first to help the body to stop attacking good things (the food you eat)

First of all: how has he been doing in the last few weeks?

Noticeably better. After only 3-4 days on the food avoidance diet with enzyme pills at each meal and Cellular Recharge 2x a day, he spontaneously started pooping on the potty on his own. We changed nothing else as far as his motivation or discipline from a parenting angle. He did this all on his own. One day he just said “mommy, I have to poop on the potty”, and he did. Since then, he has pooped on the potty on his own even when we are out in public! This is totally amazing because it has now been almost a full year that he’s had trouble learning to poop on the potty.

Also, he says his tummy feels a lot better. For the first time in his entire life he actually told me he was hungry. This is a child who has had no obvious hunger cues since he was an infant. Sure, he’d eat if you offered him food (sometimes) but I had never actually heard him say “I’m hungry” before. I hadn’t really noticed the lack of hunger until his sister came along, because she asks for food all the time. But now he does too, occasionally.

One more noticeable difference: the drippy sinuses and excess mucus that we have been struggling with for 3-4 months are gone! Unfortunately, part of the reason we had to get tubes in his ears was because his body was producing so much fluid and his ears weren’t draining it. Even after the tubes, his body continued producing fluid. Our holistic pediatrician was concerned and had him tested for environmental allergens with a blood test. The allergy testing came up with nothing. But now that we’ve done the more extensive naturopath food sensitivity testing and are treating it from that approach, the dripping is gone!

What were the results this time?

About half the foods he was previously intolerant of are now “green”, meaning his body is no longer intolerant of them. I am so excited that he can eat strawberries and bananas again!! I haven’t kept anything in the house that he can’t have in the past few weeks, which means there have been no strawberries, bananas, or apples for anyone. I am not going to lie — I missed bananas so much! They are high in potassium, which is something the body craves after a heavy strength-training workout (which I do 2-4 times a week). My body started craving bananas. On Saturday, 3 days before we went back for re-testing, I finally caved and bought bananas for myself and hid them from Little Sir! I am happy to know that now I can share the one remaining banana with him. The first thing we did was go to the store and buy him some organic strawberries. He was so excited! He is also excited about having chocolate back, because he likes chocolate coconut milk. I am super excited that he can have oats again, because so many wheat-free recipes call for oats. Whole wheat is still an issue, although gluten is not. It’s something about the wheat kernel.

Here is the new (shorter) list of foods we will need to avoid for the next few weeks, compared with the old list:

Things we got back:

chocolate, strawberries, oats, corn, wild rice, white potatoes, soy beans, pinto beans, cashews, oranges, grapes, bananas, avocados, mozzarella cheese

My takeaway

I really feel like this is working, despite how difficult the last few weeks have been. We were not perfect in sticking to the food avoidance diet. There were multiple birthday parties that derailed us, as well as miscommunication between my husband and I regarding what LS could have while I was not there. I am soooo excited about the poop progress, the hunger cues are a nice bonus, and the mucus clearing up was a pleasantly unexpected surprise!

Most of the people I have talked to who have gone through naturopath food sensitivity diets have given up too soon. Those who I have talked to that have been given a list similar to our first list have made the assumption that the list was FOREVER. As in, you will never be able to eat strawberries, bananas, or chocolate again. From what I understand, that is not the goal. The goal is treatment (in our case using supplements, homeopathics, and de-sensitivization) to get your body back to a state where it stops attacking good things (the food you eat) and can focus on attacking real enemies like bacteria and viruses. So the goal is for you to be able to eat regular food and not react negatively. The avoidance diet is to give your body a rest from fighting things it sees as “bad” and allow it to heal.

I am feeling optimistic! My next post will include more information about the Galvanic Skin Response testing that is being used to diagnose sensitivities. Stay tuned!

Have you ever visited a naturopath and been given a long list of foods to avoid? How did you feel about it?