No products in the basket.
Does nothing you eat seem to agree with you? Maybe you try to avoid certain foods, yet you’re still having symptoms. Are you confused by the difference between food intolerances, food sensitivities and allergies?
If you’re suffering from adverse reactions to certain foods, read on to understand what’s happening when food causes health issues. Most importantly, you’ll find out what can be done to ease your symptoms.
Food Intolerance, Sensitivity and Allergy – What’s The Difference?
You often hear these terms used interchangeably, so it’s no wonder there’s confusion around this subject.
- Food Allergies
Food allergies involve your immune system reacting inappropriately to something you’ve eaten. Classical food allergies usually result in an immediate, strong reaction to a food, and they’re hard to miss. You might break out in hives after eating strawberries, for example. Other people may experience a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction after eating peanuts. Even a tiny trace of the offending food can provoke a reaction.
These types of food allergies are often present from birth. The immune system develops a memory to the food by producing certain types of antibodies, and it doesn’t tend to forget over time. Although it’s possible to retrain the immune system, for example using Micro-Immunotherapy, this should always be done under the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Otherwise, sufferers of classical food allergies are advised to avoid the offending food.
- Food Sensitivities
Sometimes, your immune system produces a different type of antibody. This means the reaction to the food is more subtle, and not always immediate. Furthermore, reactions can sometimes occur hours or days after the food is eaten. These types of reactions are called food sensitivities, and they’re harder to identify from symptoms. They’re often connected with digestive issues or fatigue, for example.
The antibodies involved don’t have such a long memory as those in classical food allergies. Therefore, these reactions may wane over time and can appear seemingly out of nowhere.
- Food Intolerances
Food intolerances are, strictly speaking, when a person has difficulty digesting a food. For example, they may not be able to make a specific enzyme to break down a protein. A common example of this is the enzyme lactase. Your body needs this to digest lactose, a protein found in dairy products. People who don’t produce any or enough lactase will tend to suffer digestive symptoms after eating dairy products.
What Causes Adverse Food Reactions?
There seems to be a genetic aspect to classical food allergies, but other factors contribute, too. The bacteria resident in your gut, forming the ecosystem known as your microbiome, play a major role in how your body handles food. These bacteria have the job of training your immune system. If their population becomes disturbed, this education won’t be as effective. Then, your immune system may overreact to harmless substances, such as foods.
Food sensitivities commonly occur when the health of the intestinal lining has deteriorated, a condition known as leaky gut. Substances can then pass through into the bloodstream where ideally they shouldn’t be present. These include traces of incompletely digested food, toxins, substances used in food processing, and microorganisms. They are unfamiliar to the immune system, so it then reacts by producing antibodies and boosting inflammation.
One further connection between your microbiome and food reactions is a condition called SIBO. This is known by its full name of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It occurs when bacteria normally be resident in the colon migrate further up the digestive system into the small intestine. Here they reproduce when they encounter certain types of fibre they ferment for food.
SIBO can cause uncomfortable bloating, diarrhoea, and cramps. It’s not the fault of the food, but due to the bacteria that have ended up where they shouldn’t be.
How to Naturally Overcome Adverse Food Reactions
Here at The Forbes Clinic, we champion eating a balanced, diverse diet. This means adding in healthy foods, not taking them away. Removing foods from your diet without addressing the underlying reasons why they are causing you issues will probably mean you’ll start to react to yet more foods. This is because the unbalanced microbiome, unhealthy digestive system and confused immune system haven’t been corrected. Sadly, over time this means your diet may become less and less varied, with fewer foods tolerated. This inevitably leads to nutrient deficiencies, as well as understandable anxieties around food. Because anxiety directly impacts digestive function, the situation tends to spiral.
The first step is to gather information about your diet, nutritional status, health history and lifestyle to learn more about the factors driving your health issues. An Integrative Health Assessment is a great first choice on your health journey. Symptoms of adverse food reactions can be varied and unpredictable. Therefore, a thorough investigation is often needed to dig deep into the root causes of your symptoms.
We have a range of specialist therapists to draw on if appropriate for you. For example, a Functional Nutritionist can fine-tune your diet and help you reintroduce problem foods when appropriate. They can also dig deep into your digestive health, for example with a GI Map Test. This test analyses a sample of your stool which you collect in the privacy of your own home. It will reveal the types of bacteria present in your microbiome and how they may be affecting your wider health. It will also detect any parasites present and highlight markers for increased gut permeability. If you prefer, you can order the test direct from the clinic, while still benefitting from practitioner interpretation included in the price.
If your symptoms are being exacerbated by anxiety or stress, somatic therapy such as Emotional Freedom Technique can help your body process trapped emotions.
Don’t be a prisoner of adverse food reactions any longer – start your journey towards better digestive health today.
