A young man in his mid-twenties asked me to help him with some seasonal allergy symptoms and some digestive complaints.  He had battled allergy symptoms his whole life and his digestive problems became an issue in college.

His allergies caused common but irritating symptoms such as a cough, mucous in his throat, a constant runny nose, sneezing, and itchy eyes.  In each season some of the symptoms were more predominant than others, but they were all present year round in some capacity, annoying him, and he thought he would “just have to live with it”.  

Taking into account his age and stage of life and the fact that he was not ready to commit to a full balancing program, I recommended a whole food supplement which was a simple way to insure that he received plenty of powerful, plant-based anti-oxidants and nutrients.  After about about two months on the supplement his symptoms improved significantly and after one year they were ninety-five percent gone.  During a visit with his parents around that time, he said even they noticed the improvement in his allergies!

He believes his digestive problems began in childhood, but they began to affect his quality of life around the age of twenty.  He had fatigue and stomach pains for a couple of hours after lunch and occasionally after dinner.  He was also regularly constipated and would awaken around three am with stomach pains and an urgent need to empty his bowels.

I suggested he take a spore-based probiotic to help re-balance his gut bacteria and to help regulate his eliminations.  I also mentioned the importance of hydration and asked him to consider removing as much gluten, dairy and sugar from his diet as possible.  He took the probiotic regularly and decreased his gluten and dairy intake as well.  About one month after starting the supplement he noticed more regular eliminations and after about six months his symptoms were eighty to ninety percent improved.  He now gets a full night’s sleep and has consistent energy levels throughout the day.

This case study reveals how a few intentional changes can have an incredible impact on someone’s quality of life.  Everybody’s needs are different, and everyone responds differently to different approaches, but anyone can make small changes that have positive effects on their health.