Food Allergies and Sensitivities
Food allergies… We all know at least one person who has a food allergy. Maybe the friend who keeps an epi-pen in their bag. Or the friend who checks the ingredient label before they buy anything at the grocery store. Regardless of who it is, we know how scary it can be if they have an allergic reaction. It could lead to an emergency room trip with a swollen tongue, hives, or the inability to breathe.
This is called an immediate allergy, which turns on an aggressive histamine reaction. These are very serious but also quite rare.
There is a different type of food reaction that is much less dramatic and deadly. It is called a delayed allergy (or IgG delayed hypersensitivity). While it is less severe, this reaction is much more common and you’ve most likely experienced a food sensitivity. This reaction plays a HUGE role in many chronic illnesses and weight problems. These delayed reactions can cause symptoms anywhere from a few hours to a few days after ingestion. This could be a cause of your day-to-day bodily troubles.
Many times we develop sensitivities to foods we eat all the time, and the over-consumption puts our body in warning mode. The delayed reactions occur because many of our habits lead to a breakdown of the normal barrier that protects our immune system. That barrier is our gut and over 60% of our immune system lies just underneath that barrier.
When the lining of your gut breaks down, food particles get underneath the barrier and trigger our immune system to recognize that food as a foreign invader. This immune response sets off a chain reaction leading to inflammation throughout your body.
Lots of things can weaken your gut barrier including a nutrient-poor diet, overuse of antibiotics, medications, and/or hormones, exposure to environmental toxins, and high levels of mental and emotional stress. When your gut barrier is weak, the outside environment “leaks” into your body and you develop allergies and systemic immune problems. This is called a leaky gut. A “leaky cut” causes food sensitivities.
Why does this matter to me?
This reaction causes a wide range of problems like
Weight gain and retention
Acid reflux
Fluid retention
Fatigue
Brain fog
Irritable bowel syndrome
Heart palpitations
Mood problems
Eczema
Sleeping problems
Headaches
Sinus and nasal congestion
Joint pains
Acne
Arthritis
Do these sound familiar to you? These are all sources of inflammation.
Foods that can trigger this Delayed allergic reaction
While everyone is different, some foods irritate the immune system more commonly than others. These are
Gluten
Dairy
Corn
Eggs
Soy
Nuts
Citrus fruits
Nightshade vegetables
Yeast
What you can do about it:
While there are blood tests to help you identify IgG sensitivities, the gold-standard test is to eliminate them from your diet for a short time.
For this test to be effective, the food eliminations must be cold-turkey. Then, you will reintroduce the food in quantity (how?) and see what happens. If your immune system doesn’t like the food, you are going to notice! Pay attention to your entire body, feelings, and thoughts. What changes? You can keep track of these reactions in a health journal.
Some common symptoms of a food sensitivity reaction include
Headache
Lethargy
Stomach upset
Achy joints
Muscle pain
Trouble sleeping
Depression/anxiety
Skin breakout
Remember, each body is unique and how you experience a reaction will be as well. Keep track of how each food makes you feel as you reintroduce it into your body.
Get on our waitlist to see a practitioner so we can discuss some of the symptoms and problems you are having and how we can help you.
In health,
The Shore Integrative Health Team
FREE Consultations!
Let’s discuss some of the symptoms and problems you are having and how we can help in this FREE 15 minute discovery call.
We’d love to be a part of your wellness journey!
The Shore Integrative Health Team
(443) 339-9713
kristin@shoreintegrativehealth.com
508 Idlewild Avenue, Unit 5
Easton, MD 21601