Do you have symptoms that you can’t determine what they are coming from? Do you have bloating, constipation or diarrhea after your meals? Are there foods that you eat EVERY. SINGLE. DAY? Food sensitivities could be the cause of your symptoms. Symptoms from food sensitivities look a lot like other conditions so they can be hard to pinpoint. Plus, most people don’t think about food sensitivities as the first thing to investigate when they aren’t feeling well. Or they have had their symptoms so long, they start to think feeling bloated/crampy/fatigued is normal!
For most people, a leaky gut is the start to their food sensitivities. This can be exacerbated by eating the same foods every day. Our ancestors rarely ate the same foods every single day. Foods were eaten when they were available and in-season. This helped alleviate developing sensitivities to certain foods. A “leaky gut” refers to the lining in your intestines becoming leaky and allowing food particles that would otherwise be contained by your intestinal lining, to leak through into your bloodstream. Your immune system sees these particles as foreign invaders and will mount an immune response against them – resulting in food sensitivities. Your intestinal lining can become leaky due to stress, poor digestion, infections, etc. A healthy gut (and gut lining) is the sure-fire way to heal from food sensitivities. But you need to remove them first so you can begin to heal.
What are some of the symptoms of food sensitivities?
bloating
acne
burping
fatigue
headaches
rashes/eczema
diarrhea
constipation
IBS
Colitis
racing heartbeat
What is a food sensitivity?
Food sensitivities are different than a true food “allergy”. With a food allergy, your body has an acute reaction, responding with IgE antibodies, resulting in swelling, hives or nausea and vomiting. Food allergies can be life-threatening, especially where they can come on very quickly.
Food sensitivities, on the other hand, are not life-threatening but can cause a myriad of symptoms. An allergy can produce a reaction within minutes and up to one hour after ingesting a food you are allergic to. A food sensitivity can take a few minutes to produce a response but can also have a response several days later, making it more difficult to pin-point. Furthermore, a food intolerance, which is different than a sensitivity, can be caused by enzyme insufficiencies (such as lack of lactase to digest lactose in dairy), gut lining damage, food additives (such as sulfites in wine, MSG, and nitrates) or toxins (such as salicylates, histamine, phytic acid, etc). Food intolerances do not give an antibody reaction in the body. For this reason, food intolerances cannot be measured by the tests that I am going to discuss below.
Many times, it is difficult to distinguish food intolerance from either food allergy (IgE) or food sensitivity (IgG/Immune complexes) because both the onset of symptoms and the symptoms themselves are very similar.
If you want to try to figure out your sensitivities on your own without lab testing, there are some things that you can try at home.
1) Keep a food journal of everything that you put into your mouth, including gum and mints. You should note the time when you eat your meals/snacks and make observations about how you feel (mood, energy, bloating, etc), as well as any bowel movements. If you notice a pattern with your symptoms and a specific food/meal that you typically eat, you can further investigate from there. You can test individual foods from the meals that you notice you might be sensitive to (see #2). If you do decide to do lab testing to figure out your sensitivities, it would be a good idea to keep a journal to correlate the findings from the lab test to what you observed on your own. You know your body the best and are the best judge of what is out-of-the-ordinary for you!
2) You can do pulse-testing to see if you are sensitive to certain foods. Keep the same food journal but, take your pulse (for a full 60 seconds) while sitting and before eating, then, take it again when you are done eating at 30-minute, 60-minute and 90-minute intervals. If your pulse goes up 6 points from your baseline (before eating), you could be sensitive to something you ingested. The downside to pulse-testing is that if you are anxious about taking your pulse or the foods you are eating, your pulse reading can be skewed. So, you want to make sure you are calm and seated when taking your pulse. *For a complete guide on how to do this testing, meet with an NTP, NTC or other holistic practitioner.
The downside to trying to figure out your sensitivities on your own is if you have delayed food sensitivities. If you have symptoms that do not appear until several days after you ingest foods you are sensitive to, this may be difficult to figure out by food journaling alone. If you notice during your documenting that the symptoms you are having do not correlate to the same foods every time, you could be having delayed immune responses.
Lab Testing
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and cannot treat or diagnose medical conditions. These tests are just ones that I have personally looked into and/or used for food sensitivity screening. Consult your doctor or health professional to figure out what testing is right for you. The important thing is starting the conversation if you think you could have food sensitivities that are impeding your healing journey.
The first type of testing is Blood-Spot Testing. If you are squeamish with needles, this may be a better option for you as it is only a finger prick, not a blood draw. The downside to these types of tests(both blood-spot and blood-draw), however, is that you have to have ingested what you are wanting to test within the last 4-6 weeks. This can be a problem for people that know they react to certain foods but want to test for them. My recommendation is that if you KNOW you react to certain foods – don’t eat them!
1) Everly Well Food Sensitivity Testing: uses IgG antibody response for testing – which means that it cannot determine true food allergies (IgE). You can order this test online yourself and have the test kit mailed to you. When you receive the kit, you will prick your finger with the provided lancet and fill up several dots on a card with blood droplets. You then mail in your card to the lab where they expose your blood to different foods to determine reactivity. Your reactions will be scored as green, yellow and red, with red being the most reactive. You can also download their mobile app so you can access to your results on-the-go.
This testing is by far the most inexpensive and convenient for people due to the fact that you can order and ship the kit on your own. However, this test will not pick up on delayed food sensitivities that can appear several days after ingesting so you are not getting a full picture.
96 Foods tested:
https://www.everlywell.com/products/food-sensitivity/
2) FIT Test by KMBO Diagnostics; measures both IgG and immune complexes which show delayed food sensitivity. Their test method can measure food sensitivities that take up to 3 days to appear, making this a more accurate food sensitivity screening. Like the Everly Well test kit, this test also does not measure true food allergies and, it tests reactivity to blood droplets collected on a card from a finger-prick. However, only a health care professional, NTP included, can order this test kit for you.
Another point-of-difference on this test is that it can test for reactivity to Candida albicans (as well as other yeast, such as Brewer’s and Baker’s). C. albicans is part of your normal microflora and inhabits your skin, mucous membranes and intestines. However, if the test shows reaction to Candida, this means that your intestinal wall is compromised and leaky because the Candida have been allowed to enter your bloodstream. *KMBO Diagnostics also carries another test for Zonulin which can more definitively test whether or not you have a leaky gut.
The Food Sensitivity test measures up to 132 different foods and additives. The results from this test can also show possible cross-reactivity to other foods; for example: coffee being cross-reactive to wheat.
Food sensitivity results will come back showing the level of reactivity (green, yellow or red) depending on how much you react to a certain food/additive. You would want to work with a practitioner to discuss which foods to avoid for a period of time in order to heal your gut. Then, you can go through a period of reintroduction. KMBO offers a custom week-long meal-plan that is based on your unique results and, they also walk through reintroductions. Like Everly Well, they offer a mobile app so you can take your results on-the-go.
The second type of testing is your standard blood-draw. For this testing, you can go to a draw-center to have your blood drawn or see if your current healthcare provider would be able to provide the service to you for a cost outside of your insurance.
1) Cyrex Labs Array 10 test; this test requires a licensed medical professional to order and is pricier than the blood-spot testing. The results are based on IgG and IgA antibody reactions and you have to be consuming the foods for several weeks to months for the results to be accurate (also does not test for true allergies to foods). A point of difference here is the thorough testing that is conducted – for example, testing foods in their raw, cooked or modified forms – the cooking of proteins can alter their reactivity in the body. This is the only test that looks at all forms of protein, including combinations of proteins, which can be very important!
Tests 180 different Real-World Food Antigens (what your antibodies are reacting to) along with the following:
tests Cross-reactive PAN antigen that can mimic human proteins; therefore, causing an autoimmune response in the body
tests food protein combination reactions
tests antibodies to gum molecules (especially important for gluten-free foods/diet where xanthan, guar or locust bean gums are used)
tests antibodies to binding isolates (for example: lectins and agglutinins in legumes)
testing against artificial food colorants
testing against oil proteins (proteins that can be found in oils at minute levels)
testing against “meat glue” or Transglutaminase (holds small meat chunks together to form larger meat chunks in certain meat products)
Uses Dual antibody detection; some people produce more of one antibody than another and, it can be missed. This test looks for the combined total of antibodies against the antigen
The results of this test will also come with green, yellow and red categories of food reactions. Your healthcare provider can go over your results with you and determine the proper way forward as the report will be more in depth than the other testing above.
https://www.joincyrex.com/the-cyrex-system/array-10-multiple-food-immune-reactivity-screens
2) Mediated Response Testing (MRT); This testing takes your vial of blood and spins it down in order to remove the white blood cells. The WBC are then exposed to different foods or additives and are observed for changes in cell volume or cell appearance. The more the cells "empty" or become distorted, the higher assumed immune response.
Traditionally, food sensitivities are tested by looking for antibodies to different foods in the blood. To get accurate test results, the person must have consumed enough of the food for a period of several weeks in order to produce enough antibodies for testing. This is ok if you are currently eating the foods being tested and you don't have a compromised immune system (taking steroidal anti-inflammatories, have autoimmune concerns, digestive issues, etc.). This testing is unique in that, you don't have to consume the foods you are testing for and, it can still be mostly accurate for those who have immune challenges such as Celiac, Crohn’s or HIV. This testing is also interesting in that even if you cannot tell that you are having a reaction to a food, it can still detect one.
You CAN order this test online and have your blood drawn at a draw center or you can go through a practitioner that is skilled at reviewing the test results. If you do not go through a practitioner, you can pay extra to have an online practitioner working with MRT testing to review your results and break them down for you. Personally, I would seek out a trained medical professional to go through for this testing, as it is unique and still relatively new.
The MRT 170 tests 140 foods and 30 chemicals and additives (with options for fewer foods as well). You will get the results back with reactivity in green, yellow and red – same as all the other tests - and comes with a wallet size card with your sensitivities on them for on-the-go use.
Caveats to Food Sensitivity testing:
Sometimes these tests are not 100% reliable. It depends on a lot of factors, which sometimes can not be reproduced. However, a lot of clients do have success based on results from food sensitivity testing.
You can have “negative” results but still have symptoms. If your immune system is over-worked and tired, it will not be able to generate a response to an antigen. This can show up as false-negatives on your testing.
On the other hand, you can also get all positive results to foods that you may not be sensitive to. This can mean that your immune system is over reactive and you’re getting false-positives due to your immune system responding to everything.
In either case, you will want to work with a practitioner to calm and restore your immune system. This will look like an anti-inflammatory diet for a period of time and healing whole-foods (and potentially supplementation) to restore your immune system to its former glory so your testing can be accurate.
The whole point of conducting these food sensitivity tests is not so you can avoid these foods for the rest of your life! You should be working with a practitioner to remove the foods from your diet from a period of time while you heal your gut and address any other potential gut infections before reintroducing some of the foods you reacted to. Generally, clients will feel better once they remove their trigger foods but, if you are not addressing the root cause of leaky gut or gut infections (parasite, bacterial overgrowth, heavy metal toxicity, etc), your food sensitivities can come back or they can shift to other foods. This can become extremely frustrating! Let a trained practitioner help you on your journey back to health and feeling like yourself again!
After a period of elimination, healing and reinoculating your gut with beneficial bacteria, you should retest for food sensitivities again. While working with a trained practitioner, start to reintroduce foods that you had to eliminate during your healing process. If you heal your gut, you CAN introduce foods that you thought you might have to live without! Just know that it is a process and could take some time. Try to be patient and give yourself a lot of grace – healing will come :)