Food Sensitivity Testing - Is It Legit?
As an inflammatory health expert, I can tell you that using food sensitivity tests to address inflammation is a big piece of the puzzle, and has the ability to reduce pain, improve long-term health, and prevent chronic illnesses such as diabetes and autoimmune disease.
In this article, we’re going to cover the following topics:
What are food sensitivities?
How are food sensitivities different from food allergies?
What’s the best food sensitivity test available?
Can I recover or heal from food sensitivities? Or am I stuck with it?
Food Sensitivity Testing
Food sensitivity testing has been a hot topic in the media for the past few years.
And quite frankly, until I began to educate myself on the effects food sensitivities in long term health and whole-body health, I thought it was a load of hot garbage.
The media has not done a great job at educating us on what food sensitivities actually are, what causes them, and how they affect your health.
So, I’m here to fill the gaps for you.
As an inflammatory health expert, I can tell you that using food sensitivity tests to address inflammation is a big piece of the puzzle, and has the ability to reduce pain, improve long-term health, and prevent chronic illnesses such as diabetes and autoimmune disease.
In this article, we’re going to cover the following topics:
What are food sensitivities?
How are food sensitivities different from food allergies?
What’s the best food sensitivity test available?
Can I recover or heal from food sensitivities? Or am I stuck with it?
Much of the information in this article is referenced from experiential knowledge, in addition to the book Food Allergies and Food Intolerance (Brostoff, J., & Gamlin, L. (2000). Food Allergies and Food Intolerance: The complete guide to their identification and treatment. Healing Arts Press.).
Additional research was done to fill in the gaps. Those references can be found throughout the article.
what are food sensitivities?
A food sensitivity occurs when a food particle, known as an antigen, is recognized as foreign, triggering an immune response. Antibodies known as immunoglobulins, recognize and bind to these foreign “invaders” and work to eliminate them as though they would a virus or other pathogen.
Once initially recognized as foreign (more on why that occurs later in the post), the immune system creates antibodies that remember and recognize when the culprit food is present, causing an immune reaction each time the food is ingested. This type of reaction and memory is known as the adaptive immune system.
There are three main types of immunoglobulins involved in food sensitivities:
IgA - Primarily lives in, and protects, the mucosal barrier of tissues in the digestive tract, lungs, and sinuses.
IgG - Patrols the blood throughout the body, and the most common type of food sensitivity responder.
IgM - The initial antibody produced by the adaptive immune system in response to an antigen (1).
These types of immune responses trigger inflammatory mediators and cytokines. Cytokines are various types of proteins whose roles are to fight, destroy, and even “eat” pathogens (2).
Common Symptoms of Food Sensitivities Include:
headache
migraine
fatigue (feeling tired/low energy, without explanation)
depression/anxiety
hyperactivity (more common in children)
recurrent mouth ulcers
aching muscles
vomiting
nausea
stomach ulcers
diarrhea
diagnosis of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
constipation
flatulence/bloat
diagnosis of Crohn’s
joint pain/Rheumatoid Arthritis
edema (swelling or water retention in joints)
When a food becomes an antigen, and it’s consumed often, you can imagine the impact this would have on inflammation and pain levels.
food sensitivities vs. food allergies
It’s important to understand the difference between food sensitivities and food allergies mainly for two reasons:
Reactions to food allergies can be potentially fatal
Reactions to food sensitivities are more likely to cause long-term health conditions that can be confused for other issues.
So, what’s the difference?
We discussed how the immunoglobulins (antibodies) responsible for food sensitivity reactions are IgA, IgG, and IgM.
The immunoglobulin responsible for food allergy reaction is known as IgE.
Think of it this way:
Think of the ‘G’ in IgG (remember, this is the most common responder in food sensitivities) as standing for ‘Gradual’ (it doesn’t in actuality, but play along). Food sensitivities have a more gradual reaction, often manifesting within 12-72 hours of consuming the culprit food.
Whereas the ‘E’ in IgE could stand for ‘Emergency’. Food allergies typically have a more immediate response (within seconds or minutes), and often require emergency care.
IgE molecules bind to receptors on mast cells (a type of immune cell that lines connective tissues such as under the skin, nerves, lungs, and intestines (3)) and look for allergens - factors (in this case, foods) that cause an allergic response.
Once the allergen binds to the IgE molecule, the mast cell ruptures and releases mediators to fight or engulf the invader (this rupturing is called degranulation). These mediators trigger an inflammatory response, signal other immune cells, and cause blood vessels to widen.
This is why food allergy symptoms often include:
hives
itching
trouble breathing
redness
swelling
abdominal cramping
diarrhea
food sensitivity testing
Depending on who you talk to, there is no one test that is superior to others. The best tests are going to reflect the type of work you are doing with your practitioner.
Because I specialize in helping individuals reduce inflammation and repair gut health, it’s important to me to use a test that differentiates between the types of antibodies, helping you recognize symptoms much more easily, re-establishing your intuition, and growing connection with your body.
For this reason, I prefer to use a panel that tests for both IgA and IgG, and differentiates between the two. The test kit you get from me is an at-home dried blood spot kit, no need to go to a lab.
HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER ONLINE FOOD SENSITIVITY TESTS?
There is a big piece missing when using online testing services you might have heard of.
That missing piece is support in getting rid of food sensitivities.
Yep! You read that correctly.
Food sensitivities are most commonly caused by poor digestion and damaged intestinal lining (leaky gut). While food allergies often have a genetic factor, food sensitivities are more commonly caused by food experiences, and can be reversed!
READ MORE ABOUT HOW LEAKY GUT CAUSES FOOD SENSITIVITIES IN THIS ARTICLE
These online food sensitivity tests might tell you which foods to avoid, but they are not able to assess your body’s unique digestive health needs. Getting tested under the care of a holistic provider like myself enables you to get the individualized support you need to overcome food sensitivities by addressing the root cause.
Getting tested for food sensitivities does not mean you have to give up the foods you love.
With the right support, it is possible to enjoy those foods again without having an immune reaction.
How cool is that?!
takeaways
Think you might have food sensitivities?
Want to ditch your diarrhea, constipation, anxiety, fatigue, congestion, chronic pain, and headaches?
You are in the right place.
Click the button below to get connected with me so we can chat about it.
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Seasonal Allergies and Gut Health
But seasonal allergies are not merely the cards you’ve been dealt. While it’s true there can be some genetic factors involved, most of my clients’ seasonal allergy reactions to things like mold or pollen are reduced when we address gut health and especially liver health.
Allergy Symptoms
It is not uncommon to know someone, maybe yourself, who suffers from seasonal allergies with symptoms like red, itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, asthma symptoms, and skin rashes.
But seasonal allergies are not merely the cards you’ve been dealt (1). While it’s true there can be some genetic factors involved, most of my clients’ seasonal allergy reactions to things like mold or pollen are reduced when we address gut health and especially liver health.
Sure, you could take antihistamine medication and that might help improve allergy symptoms for a time. But you may also be making the problem worse over time.
You don’t have to suffer. You can reduce allergy symptoms and eliminate dependence on antihistamines. The solution is simpler than you think, and can be done easily and naturally with the right support.
Put simply, seasonal allergies are a strong indication that the liver is overburdened (2).
Your liver is responsible for hundreds of functions in the body, including preparing toxins for elimination before they can cause harm, breaking down fats, regulating blood sugar levels, manufacturing cholesterol, regulating hormone balance, and more.
For many decades, our modern lifestyle of increased stress and processed foods has increased our toxic burden drastically, which increases the burden on the liver to eliminate such toxins.
Pair it with our increased tendencies toward Leaky Gut, or intestinal hyperpermeability, and the toxic burden increases even more.
Learn more about Leaky Gut: How Your Chewing Technique is causing Leaky Gut.
When the liver is over burdened, toxins build up and trigger an immune system reaction in effort to deal with the threat. Our immune system becomes overreactive and begins reacting to things that are not actually a threat (such as pollen, grass, or even foods).
This is the beginning of seasonal allergy symptoms.
Bottom line:
Addressing liver health is the key to seasonal allergy relief.
That said, the liver is not the only causative factor in your allergy symptoms. In order to effectively support the liver and improve its function, it’s important to also look at digestion and gut health (3, 4), as each factor affects the other.
When working with clients to address seasonal allergies, the liver is one leg of a three-legged stool approach to achieving hormone balance:
What does it mean to support liver health?
Supporting liver health does not necessarily mean an intensive liver cleanse or liver detox, although some practitioners may recommend that.
Depending on the severity of symptoms and lab reports, it may be as simple as implementing dietary changes and balancing your blood sugar. It may also require the use of nutrients known to support liver detoxification and clearing of fatty deposits.
An individualized assessment from a qualified practitioner will help determine that.
Factors that can add to toxic burden of the liver are:
medications, prescription and OTC (including antihistamines)
processed foods (artificial colors, emulsifiers, preservatives, and binders all need to be dealt with by the liver)
refined sugars and grains
alcohol
excess hormones (when stress or reproductive hormones are out of balance, the liver is responsible for eliminating them)
poor quality fats
endotoxins produces by stealth pathogens, such as candida (5), bacteria (6), and potentially parasites (7)
Benefits of supporting the liver are:
improved cholesterol
fewer allergy symptoms (food and environmental)
improved blood sugar management
improved digestion
clearer skin
balanced hormones
So, why is addressing gut health also essential to allergy symptom relief?
When referring to “gut health” in this article, these are the factors involved:
digestion - organs, enzymes, and muscle tissues involved in digesting foods.
mucosal tissue - tissue that lines the intestines that acts as part of our immune system, but also allows nutrients to be absorbed into the blood stream once broken down fully.
microbiome - “beneficial” bacteria strains meant to live in the large intestine and feed off of undigestible foods (fiber) to produce short chain fatty acids that maintain the integrity of mucosal tissue.
Compromised digestion often leads to leaky gut, pathogenic infections such as candida, H. pylori, or bacteria, inflamed and damaged mucosal tissue (further exacerbated by antihistamines and NSAIDS).
Learn more about digestive health: Digestion, Back to Basics
Increased toxins and heightened immune activity due to pathogenic infections and leaky gut are common contributors to seasonal allergy symptoms.
So, allow me to revise my earlier statement:
Addressing gut health and liver health are essential to allergy symptom relief.
Here’s the juicy part you came here for…
Lifestyle changes you can make today to support liver function and gut health:
Eat more richly colored fruits and vegetables: There is evidence to show that polyphenols found in richly colored plant foods are very effective at reducing histamine response (Murray, M. T., & Pizzorno, J. E. (2014). The encyclopedia of natural medicine. Simon & Schuster).
Eat more quercetin-rich foods: Quercetin is a potent and natural antihistamine. Foods high in quercetin include onions, sage, parsley, citrus, nettle, and apples (Murray, M. T., Pizzorno, J. E., & Pizzorno, L. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Time Warner International.).
Balance your blood sugar: The conversion of excess sugar into storage as fats can cause fatty deposits in the liver. Eating a diet of whole, single ingredient foods, with a focus on protein and green leafy vegetables each meal will go a long way in helping balance your blood sugar and improving liver function. Learn more: Balancing Blood Sugar.
Eat more bitter herbs (especially before meals): Consuming bitter herbs and foods before meals, such as arugula, dandelion greens, horseradish, or grapefruit, will stimulate digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) production, and bile flow, thus improving digestive function (and liver health!).
Chew your food: Healthy digestion will stimulate good quality bile from the liver, and ensure your body is able to absorb and use the nutrients you are getting from your foods. Chewing your food is an important part of that process, and something we often don’t do adequately. If you feel the need to “wash down” your food with a beverage, chew more!
penny for your thoughts?
How have seasonal allergies affected you? Have any of your healthcare providers ever explained this side of it to you?
Tell me about it in the comments below.
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Leaky Gut: Your Chewing Technique May Be the Problem (and how to fix it)
Leaky gut is probably more common than you'd imagine. So if you have been told you have it, you are certainly not alone in that boat.
What is (arguably) most important to understand about leaky gut, is that it is often the beginning of many cyclical conditions, such as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), food allergies or sensitivities, seasonal allergies, dermatitis, adult acne, eczema, & candida (yeast) overgrowth. If unaddressed, many of these factors can often lead to autoimmune disease.
What causes Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Leaky Gut.
You have heard that term before, (you may have even been told you have it) but what does leaky gut syndrome even mean?!
When I first heard the term, I thought, 'is goo going to start oozing out my belly button?'
News flash: The answer is no.
Leaky gut is probably more common than you'd imagine. So if you have been told you have it, you are certainly not alone in that boat.
What is (arguably) most important to understand about leaky gut syndrome, is that it is often the beginning of many cyclical conditions, such as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), food allergies or sensitivities, seasonal allergies, dermatitis, adult acne, eczema, & candida (yeast) overgrowth. If unaddressed, many of these factors can often lead to autoimmune disease.
Keeping that in mind, if you've ever been told you have any of those conditions, leaky gut is likely to be at the root of it.
You can hack at the symptoms or condition all you want, but without addressing the root, you will end up back where you started.
What a waste!
leaky gut symptoms
To determine whether you might have leaky gut syndrome, look for symptoms, like:
bloating within 1-2 hours after eating
excess farting or belching
chronic heartburn
seasonal allergies
food sensitivities (these can manifest more subtly, like congestion, phlegmy cough, aches/stiffness, eczema, & chronic inflammation)
chronic constipation or diarrhea (or both!)
malnutrition (this is difficult to gauge without proper assessment)
excess hunger
The good news is, treating leaky gut syndrome is not difficult. It can often be resolved with some simple lifestyle changes and temporary supplementation. But before we get in to that, let's talk about what this all has to do with your CHEWING?
digestion 101
To grasp the relationship between your chewing habits and leaky gut symptoms, you've got to have a basic understanding of digestion.
DIGESTION 101:
Brain: Touching food, smelling it, seeing it - these senses all tell the brain to prepare the body for digestion. So long as you are in a relaxed state, our brain will increase blood flow to digestive organs, and increase the production and release of digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid (ie. stomach acid, or HCl).
Mouth: The first two enzymes needed for digestion are released in the mouth - salivary amylase (breaks down carbohydrates) and salivary lipase (breaks down fats). The components of your food also tell your body what other digestive juices will be needed. Think of your mouth as a second brain. While you chew, your body is working to produce enough enzymes and HCl to properly break down the types of food you consumed.
Stomach: More mechanical digestion occurs here, in addition to the release of HCl (stimulates pepsin to break down proteins, and disinfects food), this is also where more digestive enzymes are released and further the breakdown process.
Small Intestine: As food enters the SI, bile (emulsifies fats & carries toxins out of the body) and bicarbonate (neutralizes the now acidic food) are released. The SI is where a majority of nutrients are absorbed into the body. Cells that line finger-like protrusions called microvilli transport the nutrients through the SI wall and to the liver where they are filtered. A layer of mucous protects the microvilli from any acidity still left in the food, and provides protective immune response to any pathogens left over. The smooth muscles in the SI also contribute to mechanical digestion.
Large Intestine: Fats and some water are absorbed through the LI. This is also where your "microbiome" lives - bacteria that feed on indigestable foods and produce certain other nutrients, like vitamins A, K, & butyrate. Again, more mechanical digestion occurs here, too.
Colon: what is left after this process moves into the colon and eliminated.
Ok, now that we know how digestion is SUPPOSED to work , it will be easier for you to understand what leaky gut syndrome is. (if you're looking for a more in-depth explanation, download this free guide)
We’re getting closer - stay with me!
what is leaky gut syndrome?
LEAKY GUT
When healthfully intact, the mucous lining and microvilli in the small intestine act as a sort of filter for food particles that are too large to pass through. When the cells and tissue are healthy, they form what are called "tight junctions."
When the cells are unhealthy and the tissue is damaged, these junctions loosen up, creating larger openings. Larger, undigested food particles slip through these larger openings and into your bloodstream. This "leakage" causes a whole slew of problems, in the form of the symptoms I listed earlier in the post.
So, what the heck does that have to do with chewing??
I'm so glad you asked. Let me tell you!
WHEN WE DON’T CHEW PROPERLY:
Our body does not produce enough HCl. Remember, this is what is needed to disinfect foods, and stimulate protein breakdown.
The valve through which food passes from the stomach into the SI, requires that food be a certain acidity before it can enter the SI. If this acidity is not reached, the food just sits there, building pressure and causing tissue damage with what acidity there is (also a common cause of heartburn but that's for another post!)
As the pressure builds, the valve is opened by force. The acidity is not strong enough to stimulate bicarbonate release to neutralize what acid is present, so the acidic food, not disinfected, & not digested in the beginning stages, now passes into the SI.
The existing acidity causes damage to the mucous lining and microvilli.
The undigested foods and potential pathogens enter the bloodstream where our immune system reacts, causing systemic inflammation, and creating antibodies against the now "foreign" food particles (food sensitivities).
Bacteria and pathogens not properly disinfected by HCl will also enter the SI and the bloodstream (and as we know, bacteria multiply and feed on the nutrients intended for the rest of your body!)
HOW TO TREAT LEAKY GUT SYMPTOMS
Proper assessment is needed to understand the severity and sub-sequential consequences of leaky gut, to treat them effectively.
However, there are a few simple things you can begin doing right now that will still be helpful!
Sit down to eat: Multitasking while eating is a form of stress for our body. It stimulates our "fight or flight" response (yes, even scrolling Facebook can do this). Practice mindful eating by sitting down to eat, turning off all screens, and simply enjoying your meal.
CHEW!: I mean, that was the entire purpose of this post, right? As part of a mindful eating practice, take small bites and chew your food until it becomes liquid. Depending on the food you are eating, this could be 15-35 times. If you have the urge to 'wash down' your food, you have not chewed enough.
Avoid beverages with meals: Washing down your food will actually DILUTE your HCl and can contribute to all that dysfunction we discussed earlier.
Get your family involved: Want your kids to have healthy digestion, too? Think of how many of these poor eating habits we prooobably picked up from childhood. When you start involving them in the shopping, the cooking, the preparing, and then sitting down to a table in conversation together, you are promoting healthy eating habits. (And I bet your relationship will improve, too!). Avoid eating in the car, with TV's on, or phone-scrolling.
Supplementation: It is important to consult your healthcare provider before adding any supplementation to your routine. However, there are certain nutrients that are known to support healthy digestion and gut lining (which can be purchased here):
l-glutamine - supports healthy mucosal linings of the digestive tract
zinc - needed for HCl production
digestive enzymes/bitters - bitter foods support the release of enzymes and HCl.
vitamin B6 - supports HCl production and is needed for the healing of the mucosal lining.
vitamin A - supports healing of tissue lining
probiotics (strain types matter!) - supports proper elimination of waste, and eradication of excess "bad" bacteria
learn something new?
How has leaky gut syndrome affected your life? What has been helping you get through it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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