Rutabaga and zucchini pancakes, ACD friendly

Detecting hidden food allergies may help lower your inflammation as I have found out. I have been trying to recover from an injury for a year. While physical therapy helped some, I did not reap the full benefit because I had additional inflammation caused by delayed food allergies.

Researchers are just beginning to discover how detrimental chronic inflammation, like that caused by allergies, can be to one’s overall health. We have heard over and over again what chronic stress can do to our bodies but few realize that unchecked allergies have equally serious consequences for our bodies. When inflammation persists---when the immune system is always activated---this is known as chronic inflammation and can lead to chronic disease.

In my case, it lead to chronic muscle pain. At my physical therapist's urging, I had blood testing done for delayed food allergies. There were some interesting findings. I have sensitivity to fish oil, spices and herbs galore, oysters and clams, all legumes. These are things I never would have figured out through an elimination diet.

After eliminating those things for the past month, I am making progress I never thought possible with my physical therapy. I am beginning to do physical activities I avoided before without any setbacks.

Here is some other interesting information about delayed food allergies:

•  Delayed food allergies have been identified as a leading contributor to making environmental allergy symptoms worse.
• Allergies trigger inflammatory responses that can elevate C-reative protein (CRP), a protein produced in the liver and a known marker for inflammation. According to the British Journal of Nutrition, increased levels of CRP are a good predictor for the onset of both Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
• A study reported in the February 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine is a real eye opener about the harmful effects of chronic inflammation, caused by allergies. Allergic adults with wheezing have more than double the risk of heart disease. Allergy sufferers with sniffles are slightly more vulnerable. Why? Inflammation may lead to thickening of blood vessels.

The difficult part of my diet is avoiding spices and herbs, which add flavor to foods. But I am finding out that good old salt and pepper works too. That's all I used for flavoring on the rutabaga and zucchini pancakes.
Next time, I will try adding diced green onions or yellow onion.

Rutabaga and Zucchini Pancakes
(makes 4 medium pancakes)

Ingredients:

1. 1 peeled and shredded rutabaga
2. 2 shredded zucchini
3. salt and pepper to taste
4. Optional: 1 diced green onion or 1-2 T. chopped onion; herbs and spices of your choice
5. 1 T.  Nutri Flax Seed Seed Powder or 1 T. ground flax dissolved in 2 T. hemp milk (or one egg if tolerated)
6. olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Oil and spray a baking sheet. Preheat the baking sheet for about 5 minutes.
4. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto baking sheet to make 3-inch pancakes.
5. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes. Flip the pancakes and continue cooking on the other side for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Optional: cook in an oiled skillet.
7. Serve as a side dish.