When Jess Sherwood’s daughter was just a toddler, she began to have emotional outbursts, became moody, and developed stomach problems. These symptoms were accompanied by purple bags under her eyes.
While other mothers panicked at the sight of Sherwood’s daughter, Sherwood herself was relatively calm. Her husband, her daughter’s father, was severely allergic to dairy and gluten products, and often exhibited similar symptoms if he ate the wrong food.
Sherwood removed these foods from her daughter’s diet, which helped some – but her daughter continued to be extremely emotional and constantly looked tired.
That was when Sherwood decided to seek medical help. Her daughter’s pediatrician advised Sherwood against doing a blood test to determine allergies since they often gave many false positive results, but Sherwood was determined to get conclusive results and decided to try an IgC allergy test at the clinic of a trusted chiropractor.
Although Sherwood had already anticipated that her daughter was allergic to more foods, she was stunned when she finally saw the results.
Her daughter was not just allergic to dairy and gluten, but also eggs, bananas, and raspberries – all of which had been snack-time staples.
The chiropractor advised Sherwood to put her daughter through a candida cleanse. For two months, Sherwood’s daughter was only allowed to eat clean, whole, natural foods that wouldn’t trigger allergic responses so her body could fully detox from the foods that had previously been causing her trouble.
Sherwood recalled that these two months were particularly difficult; her daughter was “an emotional wreck for a solid week,” but after some time, Sherwood began to notice distinct changes. Her daughter was much calmer and happier, and even her preschool teachers were able to see the difference.
The family’s life has become far more difficult since discovering and determining their daughter’s precise allergies, but Sherwood is determined to maintain her daughter’s dietary restrictions. The benefits – better behavior and a happier demeanor from her daughter – far outweigh the detriments – not being able to eat out often.
There are moments where Sherwood feels a pang of guilt when she has to tell her daughter, “No,” she can’t eat certain foods, but tries her best to offset these incidents by preparing special, homemade treats for school events or just to share at home.
When it comes to other mothers judging for how strictly she restricts her daughter, however, Sherwood stands her ground. In her view, she’s just trying to raise a happy, healthy kid – and that’s ultimately a goal that every mother can understand.
