Are Your Health Problems Caused by Food Allergies or Sensitivities?

Have you ever considered that some of your chronic health problems could be related to food allergies or sensitivities? Current research suggests that food sensitivities may be more common than you think.

Although certain foods may be healthy for most people, if you are allergic to them, these foods can be deadly. About 2% of people in the United States suffer from these true food allergies, and many, many more suffer from sensitivities to foods.

Although an individual could be allergic to any given food, such as vegetables, fruits, and meats, there are eight foods that account for about 90% of all food allergic reactions. These are: milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), shellfish, fish, soy, and wheat.

A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific antibodies to it. The next time that person eats the food, the immune system releases large quantities of chemicals into the system, including histamine, to protect the body. These chemicals trigger a multitude of allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and/or cardiovascular system.

What are the common symptoms of a reaction?

Symptoms may include one or more of the following: a tingling sensation in the mouth, swelling of the tongue and the throat, difficulty breathing, hives, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and even death. Symptoms typically appear within minutes to two hours after the person has eaten the allergen food. Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death.

Food sensitivities usually cause less serious problems, but people with sensitivities may experience things like fatigue after meals, mood swings, rashes, irritable bowel syndrome, spastic colon, depression, muscle soreness, weight problems, or sleep disturbances, among other symptoms. Clinical research is finding more and more evidence that sensitivity to food can also increase the severity of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and dozens of other diseases normally not considered food related.

Oftentimes, these conditions are attributed to things like stress or seasonal allergies, and are difficult to diagnose, due the the constant ingestion of allergins in food. It is not uncommon for a person to be sensitive to their very favorite, and most frequently eaten food--a case of "the body craving it's own poison!"

Well over 150 different foods have been identified as potential allergins. In addition to the eight listed above, other common foods include: citrus, chicken, berries, tomato, spinach, pork, corn, beef, chocolate, papaya and the list goes on.

Your doctor can test for food allergies in a few different ways. A blood test called RAST or one called ALCAT, or the skin prick test, can help point your physician to specific food allergies.
If you suspect a certain food or foods, you can try an elimination diet, by removing the specific food for a few weeks, and see if your symptoms ease up. However, many people will have multiple allergies/sensitivities, so that may not be the most efficient method for determining where your problem is coming from. You can also do the reverse of process of elimination, and cut out everything except the foods least likely to cause a problem. If your symptoms go away, or substantially subside, try adding foods back in one at a time every four days or so. If the symptoms come back, you are sensitive to that food.

If you discover that you have a food allergy or sensitivity, it is best to simply stay away from that food, no matter how much you like it. You may not always experience these food allergies from birth. For some people, they come at later times in life, such as when you go through puberty, menopause, or a pregnancy. In fact, sometimes they can just show up for no reason at all. Our bodies change constantly and it is important to continually gauge the foods you eat in order to make the best choices.

A good doctor can help you control your symptoms and help you plan your diet so that you are still getting the proper nutrients you need. When you find out that you have a food allergy, whether it be to wheat or to seafood or to anything in between, it is not the end of the world. Healthy eating is about making good choices in order to avoid those foods.