The Missing Piece to No More Meltdowns 🧒
by Rebekah Rizzo, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Center for Nutritional Healing
Message from Cindy: I'm thrilled to continue sharing insights from Rebekah Rizzo, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and our former front desk receptionist. With a background in nutrition, gut health, and hormone support, she's navigated her own health challenges — and her family's — with passion, curiosity and determination, gaining firsthand insight into what it truly means to live this journey from the inside out. Enjoy! ~ Cindy Harrington, owner/practitioner at Center for Nutritional Healing
I wanted to share a quick story that might resonate—especially if you or someone in your family has ever felt worn down despite doing all the “right” things because sometimes the most nourishing thing you can do…is take a break.
When my youngest started kindergarten, our afternoons fell into a familiar rhythm: she'd walk in, blonde pigtails bouncing, drop her backpack—then collapse into tears or tantrums.
It broke my heart.
Her little body and brain were overwhelmed — not just by a long school day, but by something deeper we couldn't yet see. She also had unusually large tonsils, and it felt like she was catching a cold or virus every other week.
And here's the thing: we were already doing so many of the “right” things.
We ate healthy.
We supported her immune system with a few key supplements.
We made sure she got regular chiropractic care.
But none of it made a dent…until we ran a food sensitivity panel.
To my surprise (and honestly, overwhelm), the results showed sky-high antibodies to some of the most common foods in her diet: dairy, gluten, and eggs. These are foods most of us think of as nourishing — and they can be. But when your immune system is in a reactive state, they can also be part of the inflammation fire that's quietly burning under the surface.
I felt lost.
I didn't know how to replace those foods.
I wasn't sure what she could eat.
But we moved forward in sheer desperation…and the results were remarkable.
Her meltdowns stopped.
Her stools normalized within days.
She started walking in the door from school smiling — even putting her backpack away on her own!
And best of all, she stopped catching every sniffle and cold.
Even her teacher pulled my husband aside and said, “Whatever you're doing at home — keep doing it.” She noticed the change without us ever saying a word. And here's the thing—we adults aren't so different. We've just gotten better at hiding our outbursts or masking the overwhelm.
Why This Happens
When the body is inflamed — especially in the gut or the nervous system — even nourishing foods can become immune triggers. It's not necessarily the food's fault. It's the overwhelmed state of the body.
Every bite of a reactive food can spark an immune response, leading to:
Gut inflammation (think constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating)
Neuroinflammation (mood swings, fatigue, meltdowns, anxiety)
Immune suppression (chronic fatigue, colds, sniffles, congestion)
When you remove the stressors (i.e. problematic foods) — even temporarily — you give the body the space it needs to reset and repair.
“But What Will They Eat?” — Simple Swaps to Try
Here are some of the most helpful replacements we found as we adjusted to a dairy-, gluten-, and egg-free diet:
Instead of dairy:
Coconut milk or cream (great in smoothies and sauces)
Instead of gluten:
Simple swaps like rice, gluten-free oats
Instead of eggs:
Use mashed banana or applesauce in baking (1/4 cup = 1 egg)
Try flax “eggs” (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
Yes, it takes a little adjustment, but once you find staples that work for your family, it gets so much easier. And seeing your child thrive makes every swap feel worth it.
Testing Takes Out the Guesswork
This experience taught me that sometimes, even healthy foods need to be set aside — at least for a season — so the body can calm its immune response and finally heal.
That's why I'm such a believer in combining Advanced Lab Testing with Nutrition Response Testing, just as we do at Center for Nutritional Healing. Together, these tools help to uncover exactly which foods (and other stressors) are burdening you or your child's body — and create a targeted plan to support its natural healing process.
If your you or your child are dealing with chronic fatigue, mood swings, immune struggles, or inflammation that won't seem to budge — I encourage you to explore the root-cause testing offered at Center for Nutritional Healing. It could offer the missing piece. And when handled, the results can be life-changing.
The team at Center for Nutritional Healing is always here to help — just call (484) 938-7691 or send us a message today.