Episode 37: Allergies, Anxiety and Eating Disorders with Oli Weatherall

Oli was born via Caesarean (C-section). At nine months he developed a severe egg allergy and was given antibiotics for an ear infection.

His Mum, heeding medical advice excluded nuts from Oli’s diet from then on in a bid to ease his symptoms - current thinking encourages the inclusion of potential allergens  

Oli is aligned with growing evidence that delivery by C-section increases the risk of allergies and inhibits gut microbiome.

Young Oli took his own special chocolate cake to birthday parties, as his Mum didn’t want him to feel left out. Later between the ages of 13- 20, he tried to ignore his allergies and luckily avoided serious illness.

Oli’s struggles continued at University; he had two severe reactions within six months of one another a couple of years after his course finished. Years of hyper-vigilance and adrenal exhaustion were taking their toll and his anxiety levels rocketed. Every meal became a matter of life or death, with concerns about which foods would harm, maybe, kill, and which ones would heal.

When Oli realised eating made him anxious he decided to, and I quote, “reduce the amount of times I’m eating a day to try and have fewer potential times of anxiety.”

Oli developed an eating disorder.

Join me and hear what it takes for Oli to live a life of balance when under constant threat and know that if you have life threatening allergies or intolerances you are not alone.

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

• [07:00] - Allergies start

• [21:20] - A severe reaction

• [31:00] - Anxiety

• [43:25] - Lack of labelling

CONNECT WITH OLI WEATHERALL:

Oli's Instagram: @nutritionwitholi

Oli's Email: oli@v-land.co.uk

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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