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As the seasons change, our bodies are adapting to changes in the environment, too. Pay a little extra attention to your diet, not only to keep you healthy during the winter months, but also to help you avoid winter weight gain.

from: Daily Health Web 

Dr. Oz: Could A Food Allergy Be Making You Fat; Today we found out that a food allergy could be making us fat, and it could be a dairy allergy, and Oz has the test you can take. Dr. Oz said if you are one of the millions of Americans who diet and exercise and can't seem to lose weight a dairy allergy may be to blame. Dr. Mark Hyman joined Dr. Oz today with a 3 week Anti-Allergy Diet to get your system back on track and lose those pounds.

Dr. Mark Hyman told Dr. Oz food allergies cause inflammation in the digestive tract, they damage the gut and cause inflammation and that leads to obesity. Doctor's debate whether inflammation comes first or obesity comes first, but Dr. Hyman believes inflammation most often comes first and that starts the vicious cycle of weight gain and further weight gain.

One allergy in particular Dr. Oz & Dr. Hyman focus on today is an allergy to dairy. You can gain up to 30 pounds a year because an allergy to dairy might be the blame.

Dairy is hidden in foods and we don't even know it. Most people think of allergies as the acute allergies such hives or your tongue swells up. Not always so, that affects only 2-5 % of the population that way, up to 60% of the population can be affected by hidden foods like dairy and that causes slow delayed response that you might not even notice for hours after with symptoms that could include weight gain.

Dr. Oz said he is focusing on this today because he believes over half of us might have some kind of an allergy, and those allergies lead to inflammation that cause weight gain. these cause the bowel to distend causing bloating, irritable bowel syndromes, lethargy, you can get bloating and the weight gain that Dr. Oz and Dr. Hyman talked about.

Dr. Oz's 3 Week Anti-Allergy Diet

The Anti-Allergy Diet Are hidden food allergies making you gain weight? Mark Hyman, MD, has a 3-week anti-allergy diet to help get your system back on track so you can start shedding pounds.

Are you doing all the right things yet you are still unable to lose weight? A hidden food allergy could be the culprit. Dr.  Mark Hyman, New York Times best-selling author and an advocate for functional medicine, supports groundbreaking research linking food allergies to weight gain.

Sudden-onset vs. Slow-onset Food allergies Most people think food-related allergic reactions are sudden and fast acting – such as peanut or shellfish allergies which can cause immediate inflammation (an IgE immune response), resulting in swelling or difficulty breathing and can be life-threatening. On the other hand, dairy, which can be hidden in many everyday foods causes a far less acute allergic reaction, creating inflammation hours or even days later (an IgG immune response). Up to 60% of the population could be affected by hidden sensitivities to foods such as dairy.

Dairy Allergy and Weight Gain Foods with dairy can cause unhealthy bacteria to overgrow and produce toxins that cause systemic inflammation that swells the intestines and prevents normal digestion, causing weight gain, among other conditions such as irritable bowel. In fact, you can gain up to 30 pounds a year due to a dairy allergy. 

Lastly, a dairy allergy is tied to inflammation in the gut, as opposed to lactose intolerance, which is an inability to digest the milk sugar called lactose.

The first step to finding out if a dairy allergy is making you gain weight is to identify both the main and hidden sources of dairy in your diet.

Main Dairy Sources: Milk, butter, yogurt and cheese.    Hidden Dairy Sources:   Desserts: Cakes, muffins, cookies and chocolate may contain basic dairy ingredients along with “hidden” dairy derivatives such as casein or whey, both milk proteins. Be sure to look for these ingredients on labels and avoid them.

Deli Meats and Fish: Processed meats often contain dairy products such as lactose, casein and caseinates that act as emulsifiers or flavor enhancers. Meats labeled “kosher” will be dairy-free. Be aware that some brands of canned tuna contain casein.

Bread: Both white and wheat bread often contain casein, whey or milk powder. Freshly baked yeast breads are sometimes prepared in buttered pans or brushed with butter as they bake. Ask your baker if this is the case.

Energy Bars: Countless brands of protein and energy bars consist primarily of whey protein. As with all of the above, remember to read these food labels very carefully as well.

Dr. Oz 3-Week Anti-Allergy Plan

To find out if you could be allergic to dairy, follow this plan based on the 3 “Rs”: Remove all dairy, repair your digestive track, and reboot your body.

Week 1: Remove All Dairy Remove all the dairy from your diet for an entire week, which is how long your system needs for internal inflammation to settle down. Replace dairy milk with almond milk, which tastes good and has high quality protein and fat in it. In addition, replace butter with olive oil, a great source of good fat that contains oleic acid and anti-inflammatory properties.

Week 2: Repair Your Digestive Track If your gut is damaged by dairy, repair it with healthy bacteria found in probiotics. Choose a probiotic supplement that contains both bifidobacterium and lactobacillus bacteria. Select a product in pill or powder form that has 10-50 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) and take that amount daily. Be wary of liquid-based products, which may not be as active, along with food products with added probiotics. Click here for a smart guide to purchasing probiotics. 

Week 3: Reboot Your Body Now that you have a clean digestive slate, it’s time to reboot and see if dairy was causing your weight gain. Start by adding one dairy food back at a time and keep a food log of your body’s reactions. Ask yourself: Am I more tired? Am I bloated? Do I have fluid retention? All of these potential factors could be clues that you have a hidden food sensitivity to dairy.

Dr. oz said if you think you’re allergic to dairy at the end of three weeks, see your doctor for a blood test, which can help determine if you have elevated levels of a certain antibody that could be causing inflammation. If you are indeed allergic, you can use the above plan stay allergy- and inflammation-free.