Have you ever heard of somebody being allergic or intolerant to store-bought eggs but not farm-fresh eggs?

Well, that what happened to me.

After many grievances with food sensitivities in my teens, trying an elimination diet, and still not knowing the cause of them—I thought I was going crazy.

One day, a friend recommended the Pinnertest, a do-it-yourself testing kit that determines food sensitivities found in the bloodstream.

The test accurately stated that I was sensitive to egg yolk, and intolerant to soybean and grapes. I immediately stopped drinking Bonsoy with my coffee, cut out eggs and wine altogether, and saw improvements.

Why is it that food sensitivities are predominant in our Western culture?

I’m a substitute primary and kindergarten teacher that walks into a classroom expecting to find more than one child with intolerances or allergies.

How has this become the new normal?

Children are no longer allowed to share food or bring cupcakes in for the grade as there is bound to be a child with egg, dairy, or gluten allergies. Did our grandparents or their parents have to worry about this?

In my 20s, I spent some time living overseas teaching and traveling around Southeast Asia, from India to Taiwan, rural Thailand, and China. One thing that was evident in the East was that they didn’t have food allergies or sensitivities as seen prevalent in the West.

I was shocked at the beginning of my teaching experience in Taiwan to see a group of boys sharing peanuts during recess. I remember buying a can of chicken soup at a grocery store and was surprised to open it and find a chicken carcass—fresh ingredients, no preservatives.

I wanted to probe this further, so, I began crafting lesson plans on this topic, to satiate my own curiosity, and began asking my grades if they had any allergies or sensitivities—they didn’t even have asthma.

Why are allergies prevalent in the West?

During the start of the pandemic, my partner and I planted veggie plots and bought chickens. It wasn’t long before our chickens began to lay eggs; you could tell how healthy our hens were from the size and color of their eggs compared to the size and color of eggs bought in the store.

I’ve always been one to buy free-range eggs, now I consume eggs from our chickens.

Many of our processed foods contain soy. Once I was aware of my soy intolerance, I noticed it everywhere: on packaging labels from frozen items to cereal boxes to whole organic foodstuff.

“Once you remove soy, you realize you’re eating no processed foods.” ~ Blake Lively.

She couldn’t be more right—everything you eat has soy in it. Could this be doing more harm than good?

As a child, I didn’t have food intolerances, maybe you didn’t either. Is it because we have been exposed to too many preservatives and chemicals in our everyday foods, either fresh or packaged, that has caused a weakened immune system?

If we stop eating these foods and opt for farm-fresh, can we reverse the harm we’ve caused our bodies?

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