Food Allergies in Children - "Eating" Stress
Depending on how old the child is, we would need to look at the parent’s stress first. If allergies surface before the age of 8-10 years old, I always work with parents, especially the mother.
Food allergies surface when stress is being “eaten” with the food.
The client might feel that his/her environment is hostile, they can feel dominated and suffocated by their partners or caregivers.
What food is the child allergic to?
Milk allergies usually mean a conflict with mom, negative associations with being nurtured.
They might have been an abrupt interruption of the breastfeeding period.
Feelings of abandonment and rejection can be at the core of issues with dairy.
Wheat allergies and sensitivities can suggest famine trauma and even the history of slavery in ancestry.
Bread often was the only food poor/enslaved people would eat. Bread is also a staple in many diets and it is important in many religions, so family dynamics and associations with God/the Divine have to be examined as well.
Also, is the client allergic to wheat or to the yeast found in bread?
Pepper /spicy food allergy suggests suppressed anger and issues with being controlled.
Nut allergies suggest a conflict with mom, suppression by the dominant female figure. Exploration of the ancestry is also needed to fully understand the possibility of inherited trauma.
Shellfish allergy can suggest being smothered by the family, boundary oversteps, and safety found by staying in one’s own “shell”.
Issues with yeast almost always suggest suppressed resentment.
Allergic cross-reactivity can also occur, so people who have issues with one food can be triggered by similar foods (wheat allergy can be triggered by corn, for example).
Food allergies start in the gut, starting with the mouth, and especially in the small intestine (see: intestinal permeability or leaky gut).
This begs a question: what is being consumed, digested, and assimilated along with the food? What emotions are being eaten with the food?
Womb trauma needs to be explored with food allergies in children as well.
How did the mother feel while the fetus was developing? Were there any issues with food during pregnancy?
Did the mother diet during pregnancy?
The placenta is not a barrier between the fetus and the mom, it’s semipermeable. What else could the fetus absorb with the nutrients coming from mom through the placenta and the umbilical cord?
Was the child breastfed?
So, to summarize the above: how does the client feel when he/she is exposed to the problematic food?
Supportive Affirmations:
"I digest and absorb information with ease. My environment nourishes and supports my growth."
Oils and crystals that can help (please use caution around kids; they can swallow the crystals, and the oils can be irritating or even poisonous to them in large quantities, so keep them away from children):
Feeling dominated: Lemon; Selenite
Feeling Attacked: Rosemary; Black Turmaline
BOUNDARIES: Tea Tree; Amazonite
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