Conditioned Food Sensitivity

Vigilance describes how careful you are with your food restrictions. Your quality of life will suffer if you are either under- or over-vigilant. Kristina shares her journey of finding a healthy degree of vigilance. Kristina Seefeldt has navigated anaphylactic food allergies her whole life. Born and raised in Alberta, Kristina moved to Toronto in 2015 to pursue her Master of Arts in Criminology at the University of Toronto. She currently works at Toronto Community Housing's Community Safety Unit. Work aside, Kristina is a yoga teacher, a dedicated traveller (when the world is not in the throes of a pandemic!), and despite her allergies, a huge foodie. You reach Kristina through IG @kristina.flows.

It is easy to get caught in a futile struggle to try and get other people to understand and accept your food sensitivities. Christine shares stories of how this led to frustration and why she keeps her explanations to a minimum. Christine Myers is a wife and a mom of two. She is a chronic illness warrior, nutritional therapy practitioner student, former pastry chef , content creator and a board member of the non-profit organization Lichen Sclerosus support network. For years she has struggled with numerous chronic illnesses and food sensitivities. She shares her delicious recipes and her journey to thriving with chronic illness and food sensitivities through her website (www.insicknessandinwellness.com) and Instagram (@insicknessandinwellness).

Christine shares her anger and frustration with food restriction and her journey to thriving and helping others. If you are stuck in food-restriction grief, Christine's down-to-earth stories will help you take steps forward.   Christine Myers is a wife and a mom of two. She is a chronic illness warrior, nutritional therapy practitioner student, former pastry chef , content creator and a board member of the non-profit organization Lichen Sclerosus support network. For years she has struggled with numerous chronic illnesses and food sensitivities. She shares her delicious recipes and her journey to thriving with chronic illness and food sensitivities through her website and Instagram (@insicknessandinwellness).

A hypervigilant limbic system looks for danger around every corner. When fear drives our awareness, we experience physical sensations more intensely and worry that it is the beginning of a symptom flare. Balanced awareness helps us differentiate between harmless physical sensations and symptoms. Kristy Arbon, BA, BSW, Cert. MSC is founder and CEO of HeartWorks Training LLC, teaching from a trauma-informed and strengths perspective approach. She supports people in developing self-compassion, mindfulness, embodiment, shame resilience and intuition through training, mentoring, researching and writing. Kristy’s offerings have deep roots in the traditions of mindfulness, sensory modulation, interoceptive awareness, embodiment, Polyvagal theory, neuroscience, Buddhist philosophy, Mindful Self-Compassion, internal parts work, and exploration of archetypes. She is the developer of the Somatic Self-Compassion curriculum, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, and a qualified Social Worker.   Reach Kristy through - kristy@heartworks.training, kristyarbon.com, Facebook - @KristyArbon, Instagram - kristyarbon

Food labels (this food is high in histamine) and health labels (I am histamine intolerant) are easy to pick up from our fear-based media. Unfortunately, they profoundly affect our relationship with food and may lead to unnecessary restrictions. Let go of those labels and find the freedom to expand your diet. Alyssa Lavy, MS, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian who believes that food should be satisfying, nourishing and delicious. She is the owner of Alyssa Lavy Nutrition & Wellness LLC, a private practice based in Connecticut with a focus on digestive health. She provides in person and virtual nutrition counseling with a highly individualized approach, as well as personal training and nutrition consulting for businesses. Alyssa regularly contributes to national media outlets, such as Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, Cooking Light and more. You can follow her on Instagram @alyssalavyrd and Facebook @alyssalavynutrition. Additionally, you can also visit her website and view recipes and nutrition news on her blog at alyssalavy.com or contact her directly (alyssa@alyssalavy.com).

Reintroducing dairy brought new freedom to Judy's life, but her inner dialogue questioned if the fifteen-year restriction was necessary or if she had unwittingly complicated her life. Judy describes how self-compassion helped her overcome this shame and regret.

Brooke describes how wellness culture can lead us down a path that makes the symptoms we are trying to "fix" worse. For example, we are bombarded by messages that the "right diet" will heal the gut and is a panacea for a myriad of medically unexplained symptoms. But with so many conflicting messages about what the "right diet" actually is, we are left confused and frustrated.   Brooke Bulloch, RD is a non-diet Dietitian, CEO at Food to Fit Nutrition, and mom. She earned a BSc in Nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan and her work experience began with the Regional Health Authority in 2009. Brooke has been working in private practice since 2012 and today her practice is comprised of a team of HAES-aligned dietitians with various expertise supporting the areas of pediatrics, gastrointestinal disorders, chronic conditions, women's health including PCOS and fertility, intuitive eating, and eating disorders. Brooke is an experienced media spokesperson and contributes regularly to Co-op's in store Table Magazine and online Food Blog. Since 2011 Brooke has been featured in CBC radio, The Globe and Mail, Huffington Post, Canadian Living, Chatelaine, Cottage Life Magazine, Inside Fitness, and has a monthly segment on Saskatoon's Global News Morning. As a working mom and business owner, Brooke values simplicity in nutrition planning along with a curious, non-diet approach to food and eating. Contact Brooke: www.foodtofit.ca; @brookebullochrd; @foodtofit_nutrition

Kristina and her mom, Pat, reminisce about Kristina's challenges growing up with multiple, severe anaphylactic food allergies. Despite these restrictions, the family continued their foodie ways, and Kristina grew up with a positive relationship with food. They share the family rituals and traditions that made this possible. Kristina Seefeldt has navigated anaphylactic food allergies her whole life. Born and raised in Alberta, Kristina moved to Toronto in 2015 to pursue her Master of Arts in Criminology at the University of Toronto. She currently works at Toronto Community Housing's Community Safety Unit as a compliance and training specialist. Work aside, Kristina is a yoga teacher, a dedicated traveller (when the world is not in the throes of a pandemic!), and despite her allergies, a huge foodie. You reach Kristina through IG @kristina.flows.

Madeline started her diet expansion journey with impulsive reintroductions. These unsuccessful attempts reinforced her fear and food restrictions. When she learned to step back and make intentional changes, she found success and ended her restricted diet struggles. Madeline Erlich is a Registered Dietitian and graduate student at the University of Toronto. She recently completed a post-graduate diploma in Dietetic Education from Brescia University College, an affiliate college at the University of Western Ontario. She also holds a BASc in Nutrition and Food from Ryerson University and a BAH in Health Studies from Queen’s University. Madeline was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2015 after a lifetime of health challenges. Her attempts to heal her body after diagnosis led her to struggle with dietary hypervigilance and conditioned food sensitivities. Having now overcome the Food Avoidance and Sensitivity Trap, she uses these experiences to help clients break out of the cycle as well. Contact Madeline at FASTFreedomProgram.com.

After recording our initial self-compassion podcast, I realized that my inner dialogue was not as kind as I thought, and I asked Kristy for a follow-up episode. She shares her wisdom about softening resistance and connecting compassionately with ourselves when the present moment is challenging. Kristy Arbon is founder and CEO of HeartWorks Training LLC, teaching from a trauma-informed and strengths perspective approach. She supports people in developing self-compassion, mindfulness, embodiment, shame resilience and intuition through training, mentoring, researching and writing. Kristy’s offerings have deep roots in the traditions of mindfulness, sensory modulation, interoceptive awareness, embodiment, Polyvagal theory, neuroscience, Buddhist philosophy, Mindful Self-Compassion, internal parts work, and exploration of archetypes. She is the developer of the Somatic Self-Compassion curriculum, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, and a qualified Social Worker. Reach Kristy through - kristy@heartworks.training, kristyarbon.com, Facebook - @KristyArbon, Instagram - kristyarbon