Protein Intolerance

Andrea Rossi, B.Sc., RHN, R.BIE

December 18, 2018

Allergies

As a BioEnergetic Practitioner, my job is to identify what items (internal or external) that are causing stress on your body. These stressors can be anything from our external environmental such as plants and pollens to foods as well as things internally such as vitamins, minerals, probiotics, or even our own tissue cells.

Wait…our own cells can be causing stress in the body?

Unfortunately, yes. When your body is experiencing external and/or internal stress, it will no longer function optimally creating a wide range on symptoms depending on where your weakest links are on a cellular level. An internal stress is often causes by our bodies attacking our own tissues and cells.

This is when you feel like nothing you’re doing is working, helping, that your fighting an uphill battle and that your body is just falling apart.

The following diagram is what I call the Optimal Health Pyramid.

From this diagram you can see that amino acids (our proteins) are the #1 most important factor in Optimal Health (even before digestion!).

Now when I say they’re the most important, I don’t mean in a dietary way (although to some degree they are). I’m talking more on a cellular level.
Although all aspects of this pyramid are important, I am going to start by explaining the importance of amino acids and why they hold the #1 spot of importance in achieving optimal health.

What are amino acids?

Well they’re the structural units (monomers) that make up proteins. If you take away the water in the human body, 75% of what’s left in our bodies are proteins (amino acids) and are vital to every part of human function. This is why there is always a lot of emphasis on making sure you’re consuming enough proteins in your diet. We are protein beings!

Where are they in our bodies?

In the human body, protein substances make up the muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, enzymes, nails, hair, and many vital body fluids. They are also essential for the growth, repair and healing of bones, tissues and cells. The enzymes and hormones that catalyze and regulate all bodily processes are proteins. They even help to regulate the body’s water balance and maintain the proper internal pH. They assist in the exchange of nutrients between the intracellular fluids and the tissues, blood, and lymph. They are also a large component in the energy production and release within our cells.

How are they used?

One of the most talked about properties of amino acids is how it can assist in muscle building. And if you’ve ever taken a protein shake and read the label, you’ll have found a breakdown of the various amino acids in the formula. However, there is much more to amino acids! They’re involved in all the internal reactions of our living cells. Just think, all of our digestive enzymes are proteins. They ultimately control all cellular process including digestion!

Why are they important?

The problem with amino acids is that they deteriorate. Amino acids are not stored for later use like carbohydrates are but they can be replaced. They also enable the proper functioning of our vitamins and minerals. Even if vitamins and minerals are absorbed and assimilated by the body, they cannot be effective unless the necessary amino acids are present. This is why Vitamins and Minerals are higher up on the Optimal Health Pyramid.

What happens if you have an intolerance to amino acids/proteins?

Is that even possible? And unfortunately, the answer is yes.

A great metaphor I like to use to explain this would be like a house allergic to its bricks. All the inner functioning of the body (“house”) would be compromised and stressed for its fighting with itself at all times. Muscle build up and beak down, digestion, cellular repair, and so forth are all compromised.

This would ultimately be the start of an autoimmune disorder where your body is now starting to attack your own cells.

How is this possible you ask?

There are various ways you can become intolerant to your amino acids. What is often very common is for the intolerance to form in those who like to work out a lot or consume larger volumes of protein powders or supplemental amino acids. This could be caused by a larger than normal amount of muscle breakdown and buildup which increases the amount of amino acid turn over the body needs to process as well as an increased consumption protein based supplements.

The following is a list of the most common causes for amino acid intolerance:

Overconsumption via protein powders, drinks, and supplements
Genetics – auto-immune diseases (body is attacking “foreign” amino acids)
Emotional component: self-attacking-self
Stress – physical or emotional
EMF (Electromagnetic Frequencies) – Cell phone towers, Computers, WiFi, Electric alarm clocks, Microwave towers, etc.
Digestive disorders/lack of enzymes
Compromised immune system

How do you find out if you’re intolerant to proteins?

I use a method called Applied Kinesiology (aka. Muscle testing) to determine whether an individual has an intolerance to amino acids (essential or non-essential or both!). However, if you’re wondering if you have an amino acid intolerance, check out this list of common symptoms associated with this type of intolerance:

Greater fatigue than normal
Aching in legs or hips (pain often intensifies when lying down)
Less stamina or endurance
Decreased muscle strength
Weight gain or difficulty losing weight
Sighing or yawning
Less tolerance to stress – B vitamins require amino acids in order to work. There will almost always be intolerance to B vitamins if amino acid intolerance is prevalent.
Low iron levels (also adds to fatigue) – the amino acid tyrosine is needed for iron absorption
Chilliness (due to a deficiency in tyrosine and the inability to utilize iron)
Hormone imbalances – often intolerances to various hormones
Tendency toward depression and anxiety
Reduced libido
Thinning or falling of hair

The later stages of amino acid intolerance include symptoms such as:

Dry flaky skin
Aversion to meats or poultry (it always seems to smell “off”)
Possible constipation – less ability to eliminate toxins even at a cellular level
Greater susceptibility to sprains, strains and bruises
Slower rate of healing

The importance of addressing an amino acid intolerance goes much deeper than just getting your energy up. All autoimmune diseases are almost always caused by an intolerance to amino acids.

The very concept of an autoimmune disease is that your body starts to attack itself. This occurs when your immune system does not recognize your own cells and thinks they’re foreign invaders so they start to attack. An intolerance is the same where your body does not recognize the “intruder” (food, supplement, etc.) and must attack. The intensity of this process can vary from symptoms listed above for an amino acid intolerance, to full on anaphylaxis for say something like peanuts.

Using the BIE Process with amino acids

As a BioEnergetic Practitioner, I have the ability to take the frequencies which the body does not recognize (ex. amino acids) and apply the BIE Process. This process allows for us clear any energy blockages therefore creating balance in the body again so that all aspects can work optimally!

Book in a free 30 min consultation below to find out if an amino acid intolerance could be part of the reason for your current health concerns.

How to avoid an amino acid intolerance

You’re probably wondering if there is something you can do to avoid becoming intolerant to amino acids. Although there are aspects out of your control, there are some things you can do.

The #1 tip to avoid amino acid intolerance is to rotate, rotate, rotate!! This is for anyone taking any type of supplement for that matter. Whether its protein powders, amino acid formulas, or any other supplement. Rotating what you’re taking (especially in concentrated amounts) will greatly reduce your risk of becoming intolerant to any “supplement” that you take. The over use and expose of one brand or one type of product will most likely lead to you becoming intolerant to that product of those components.

The other tip I have for you would be to be gentile with yourself. The unspoken and unconscious words and things that are said within us have much greater affect on our health and wellbeing than we care to admit. If you have a lot of internal (or even external) negative self talk, eventually your body will start to take those words at face value.

So for example, if you have this constant feeling of not being good enough, that nothing you do is good, and are just always being hard on yourself, your body will eventually in turn start to take those attacking thoughts and start to attack our own self. If you’re interested in learning more about the power of our unspoken words, Author Caroline Myss has many amazing books and information on the topic and I would encourage you to check her out.

The other steps in the health pyramid

Our digestive health is definitely next in line when it comes to the fundamentals of our health. But without an affinity to our amino acids our digestive system is fighting an uphill battle.

When it coms to digestion, there are key aspects that I often find in my clients. And the most common one (this might shock you!)… is that the majority of people with digestive issues are intolerant to their probiotics!!

YES! So you’ve been taking all those probiotics and trying to rebalance your digestive flora BUT, because your body is intolerant to them (ie. not recognizing them as the helpful critters that they are), you’re just flushing them away!

AND, because your body isn’t recognizing the probiotics, the harmful bacteria (ie. Yeast/Candida) are most likely taking over in full force because there is nothing in their way.

Remember, if you’re interested in participating in the cleanse, the Early Bird Registration is on until December 31st for the January group cleanse!

The group cleanse will be starting on Monday, January 14th ending on February 12th.

The next step in the Optimal Health Pyramid is Vitamins and Minerals. Again, I put this category before nutrition because if your body can’t recognize the micro nutrients within the foods we’re eating (vitamins + minerals) then regardless of what you put in your body it won’t metabolize it the way it should. Making sure that your body is accepting all of our micro nutrients is key in optimal health.

Conclusion

Achieving optimal health is our ultimate goal. And depending on your own personal struggles this will look different for everyone. But these 4 key principles are the backbone to getting us there!

So the first step in health and healing is making sure that our bodies aren’t attacking our own cells and that we don’t have an amino acid or protein intolerance.

The second step is to make sure that our digestive system is running optimally and there are no hidden and lingering infections and inflammation irritating our immune system.

The third step is to make sure that our bodies can recognize the proper micro nutrients (vitamins + minerals) so that our bodies know what to do and how to process and utilize them.

The fourth step would then come to nutrition. Where the quality of what you put in your body is what fuels it. Although this is a key step in optimal health and some might argue that it’s the first step in health, without the first 3 you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. The efforts that you put into your food and nourishment can’t be maximized without your body working in harmony on a cellular level.

To read more on my nutrition tips, check out my blog post on Clean Eating HERE!

Much Love,