Food sensitivities, or food intolerance, can cause a number of different health-related issues. Some people refer to food sensitivities as food allergies. It's important to note that a sensitivity is different than an allergy, sometimes referred to as a True Food Allergy. A true food allergy, such as a life-threatening response to peanuts, can be dangerous and may require the use of medication or, in extreme circumstances, an epi-pen. Food sensitivities can cause significant discomfort but, to the best of my knowledge, are not life-threatening.
Symptoms of food sensitivities
One of the issues when it comes to diagnosing food sensitivities is that there may be a delayed hypersensitivity response, meaning it can take several days for symptoms to appear.
Symptoms are varied and often can be misdiagnosed as being something else. These include:
- Bloating
- Coughing or continual throat clearing
- General Malaise (feeling “under the weather”)
- Hives
- Headaches/Migraines
- Irritable bowel symptoms
- Sinus issues
- Stomach ache
- Repeated sneezing for “no reason”
- Runny nose
My story
I noticed several significant changes in my health that lead me to believe I might be developing some food sensitivities. I realized that I was getting frequent rashes or flushes on my neck, my sleep was more interrupted (I kept waking repeatedly for no particular reason), I also noticed occasional low level aches in my small joints, and I realized I had developed a craving for cheese. Sadly when we “crave” foods it often turns out that this is because we have developed a sensitivity and become intolerant of them.
Because it had been a while since I've had food sensitivity testing I decided it was time to go ahead and retest myself. Here is my thought process after I received my results and read the report:
- Strong reaction – honey – “Darn! My favorite sweetener to deal with seasonal allergies. I often take a spoonful of raw, local honey in tea to help me through the winter allergy season. Oh well, I guess I'll have to give that up for now.”
- Strong reaction – fusarium vasinfectum (an agricultural fungus) – “Rats! Hard to deal with. I'll really have to be extra vigilant about washing produce and drying it carefully before use. Time to get out the humidity monitor and make sure the house isn't too damp.”
- Strong reaction – sodium benzoate (a preservative) – “Say what?!?! I'm guessing my exposure is coming from eating on the road because I KNOW I am not eating it at home.”
- Moderate reaction – Blueberry – “Darn! My favorite berry. Luckily there are lots of other berries, I'll just have to switch for a while.”
- Moderate reaction – Canteloupe/Honeydew – “Huh? Another fruit? I don't even eat that much fruit to begin with.”
- Moderate reaction – Cottonseed oil – “Again probably from eating out, I certainly don't have this at home.”
- Moderate reaction – Cheese (cow) – “Dagnabit [and yes, I do say this, it's my favorite “swear” word followed closely by dagnabitall] I was afraid of that. NO CHEESE! Seriously!” [That's when I realized the craving part was worse than I had thought]
- Moderate reaction – Raspberry – “Excuse me?? What??? No berries????” [note: a food sensitivity to more than one thing in a food group often means that there is a reaction to the group as a whole. For me the berry sensitivity means no acai, blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, cranberry, elderberry, goji berry, gooseberry, raspberry, and strawberry for six months.]
- Moderate reaction – FD&C Yellow #10 – “Oh man I seriously need to look at how much I am eating out or away from home.”
- Moderate – Dibutyl Phthlate – “hmmmm, time to look more closely at my personal care products.”
- Moderate – Ethylene Dibromide (a chemical solvent) – “no earthly idea where I could be getting exposed to this but I'll have to be more aware of my surroundings.”
These reactions are very similar to the sort of mental gyrations that many of my clients go through when we review their results. Although a significant reaction requires a six month avoidance of the substance and a moderate one only three months. I often just ask that they avoid everything for six months. We also embark on a healing gut protocol.
In my case I'm already doing most of what the healing gut protocol involves, however there are some gaps, especially when I travel. I'll be working hard to address those.
However, I'm going to confess that none of this will take place until after Thanksgiving. The results came after I had planned my menu, purchased food, and started cooking. I'll admit that I'm human and not able/willing to completely revamp my holiday menu with just a couple of days notice. I'm also not thrilled about mashed potatoes with no butter or cream, no homemade cranberry orange relish (made this year with kumquats picked fresh off the tree instead of oranges), no whipped cream on the pumpkin pie/custard. But believe me, I know how much better I will feel once I start on my new eating plan and clean up my food intolerances. I also know that the more compliant I am the better I will feel and that in six months it is highly likely that most if not all of these food sensitivities will have gone away.
Testing for food sensitivities
If you suspect you have food sensitivities you can talk with your doctor or order a test online. The test I used looks at 212 different potential allergens. You can see them listed below.
One of the reasons I like this particular company is because their test comes with a dietary rotation plan (you can get more information about what a dietary rotation plan is and how it works here). The report also comes with a laminated wallet card. The wallet card is so you can take it with you to the grocery store or when you are on the road to help you remember what exactly you are supposed to avoid.
I wish I could get such extensive testing done here, but sadly the allergists where I live test very conservatively. Really enjoyed “listening” to your thoughts as you listed off your results. It is a great reminder that managing our food allergies/sensitivities means looking at not just what foods we are eating at home, but also outside of the house and not just what those foods are but also how they were grown and handled. Fun stuff!
It amazes me how often people have a reaction and never consider
it may be from something they are eating and they are allergic to it or due to a combination of other items they ate along with the item it is causing the reaction.
I wasn’t aware this kind of extensive testing existed. Sounds like a powerful tool. I appreciated you sharing your results and your thought process behind everything. Great ‘food’ for thought:-)
Jessica, It is important to avoid the foods you are sensitive to so that you can heal the gut lining. Otherwise the protein continue to cross that intestinal barrier and cause problems. While every person and every situation is different I have found that often if people avoid the offending substance for six months and embark on a gut-healing protocol they can safely add back in what was bothering them.
Eggs, dairy, and corn can be very difficult to avoid because, as you mention, they appear in so many different things.
I wish your sister well as she starts this healing journey.
My sister just did this through her gym and had high sensitivities to so many things she eats including eggs that are in so many more things than you realize. If it’s a sensitivity and not an allergy do you really have to cut it out and are you cutting it out forever?
I love how you have walked us through your thought processes – this is a wonderful learning tool for people with new results and you share it with all your clients who get this test done!
Wow, the power of food – both good and bad! and the power we get when we have information like this in our hands
Oh my goodness this is an eye opener! Glad you found what was bothering you! I would miss the blueberries and raspberries too.
As you know the world of food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities is very interesting to me and something I’m quite passionate about. In my community we refer to ige-mediated reactions as food allergies. Intolerances refer to cases were an invidual is lacking an enzyme to digest certain foods such as lactose intolerance, alcohol intolerance, histamine intolerance, etc. Sensitivities pretty much refer to all other adverse reactions caused by foods. I look forward to checking out the LRA, it sounds interesting. Good luck with overcoming your food sensitivies. I hope enjoyed your Thanksgiving!
Great reminder that our intolerances change and shift over time. Thanks for sharing in real-time your journey. <3 Katherine.
For your friend who can only eat 5 things that sounds very challenging and rather overwhelming. Hopefully they’re getting good gut support and this will eventually change for them.
The good news is that by avoiding these few things for just a few months I’ll most likely be able to add them back in to my diet. The best part is that I know I’ll feel better.
Having worked with so many clients who’ve gone through this process it’s always gratifying to see how much it helps them achieve their health goals and feel their best.
I have to admit, doing without so many things and worrying constantly what is in foods would be a real pain in the butt to me. I just want to eat and get on with it, not make it the focus of my time and life. Have a friend who literally has spent the past 5 years eating 5 substances and that is it. I admire his discipline but I’d personally probably never do it.