Be sure to grab your free Food Sensitivity Detective Journal:Fill out the symptom questionnaire before you get started, then eliminate your most likely culprits, fill out the post elimination diet questionnaire, then record the results of the reintroduction phase. Since the beginning of the year, I've been writing about the connections between chronic inflammation, gut health, and chronic diseases and conditions. As the body of research grows rapidly, more and more connections are between the three are being discovered.
And, if you've been reading for awhile, you know that my own and my son's dramatic results from changing diet are convincing (especially to me).
Also, because I don't believe in being too rigid, it's quite possible to go off track. Have you experienced that?
So, while I had been limiting the amount of gluten containing foods I ate for awhile, I decided after this past Christmas to eliminate them completely. Within a few weeks, I was noticing a significant reduction in joint pain, especially in my knees.
I've kept to it pretty well. I noticed such a big difference that it became much easier to simply say "I don't eat gluten," even when I'm staring at the yummy fresh bread on my table at my favorite Italian restaurant. Did I tell you they make the best herb infused olive oil to dip it in?
Then I threw a party for my husband's birthday a few weeks ago. I decided that I would be fine if I ate a small piece of his chocolate birthday cake.
Then the next day on his actual birthday, he wanted to go out to sushi. I didn't really want to, the time we went a month before, I hadn't really felt that great afterwards. I just felt gassy and bloated within a short time, and maybe a bit headachy the next day.
However, it was his birthday, and I didn't want to be difficult. Well, guess what...once again, I felt icky afterwards. I barely made it out of the restaurant before I started feeling gassy and bloated, like I just wanted to get home and put my sweatpants on ASAP. I thought that it was probably the white rice, the salty soy sauce, or that it was just richer food than I've been making at home. As it happened, while I was researching for this article the next day, I came across something about soy sauce containing gluten. Honestly, I hadn't even thought of it, the soy sauce or tamari I buy for at home is gluten free. Then reading along further, I realized the miso soup from the sushi restaurant would also contain gluten. Once again, the organic miso I buy is gluten free. They say it comes in threes...the next thing I read was to watch out for "coffee substitutes". Many of the coffee like drinks that I wrote about a few weeks ago that contain prebiotics like chicory, also contain barley. I hadn't even thought of it! I had just finished a cup of half coffee / half Teeccino, which is a chicory containing coffee substitute. I hadn't drank it too often, but once again, I didn't even think of it.
I had never been too militant about gluten containing foods since I don't have a serious disease like Celiac Disease. But this time around, I definitely noticed that having multiple sources of gluten in a 24 hour period, did not make me feel good.
Read all the way to the end to learn about the reintroduction phase of an elimination diet. I think I can cross it off my list for gluten and I'll be much more careful in the future. Unless I'm in Italy.... What's the difference between food allergies, food intolerances, and food sensitivities?
Food allergies are the most obvious. They are an IgE mediated, near immediate immune response to a specific food.
Food intolerances are generally a digestive response due to the lack of an enzyme needed to break down a certain food. Food Sensitivities are the least understood. They may be associated with increased levels of IgG class antibodies. What makes them especially difficult to pinpoint, is that the symptoms can be delayed after ingesting the triggering food from an hour to 48 hours. Food Allergies
Food allergies are the most dangerous in the short term. The immediate response to the smallest exposure to the triggering food has the potential to be life threatening.
The allergy can effect multiple organs, and often requires the person with the allergy to carry an epi-pen, to administer epinephrine or adrenaline to stop an anaphylactic reaction.
The symptoms of food allergies include:
Food allergies almost always begin in childhood. They develop after the first time a food is eaten.
They have become much more common in recent years. For the most part, the only treatment is simply to avoid the triggering food, although a friend's daughter recently was involved in a trial where she was exposed to tiny, tiny amounts of peanut over the period of several years and can now eat peanuts. This was very exciting for her and her family. Not that she felt the need to eat peanuts, but because generally people with peanut allergies can go into anaphylactic shock if they are unknowingly exposed to peanuts, which is scary and limiting. Food Intolerances
While food allergies involve the immune system, food intolerances involve the digestive system.
If you have an intolerance to a food, you have difficulty digesting it, usually because you lack the enzyme that breaks the particular food down.
This can cause diarrhea, intestinal gas, or abdominal pain. Food intolerances are often genetic. One of the most common food intolerances is lactose intolerance. People with a lactose intolerance lack sufficient quantities of the enzyme lactase to break down sugars in cow's milk, resulting in gastrointestinal trouble. The treatment of food intolerances involves either avoiding the food or using digestive enzymes to help break the food down. Food Sensitivities
Food sensitivity is a growing field of study and is much less understood.
It is often included in the category of intolerances, but is usually associated with increased levels of IgG class antibodies, which makes it an immune response, although there are often digestive symptoms.
Unlike food allergies, the symptoms can be delayed, anywhere from an hour to 72 hours after eating the triggering food.
Food sensitivities are non-life threatening. Because of the delayed reaction times and vague symptoms, individuals with food sensitivities can go their entire life without knowing they have them.
How do you know if you have a food sensitivity?
Generally you may notice certain symptoms on a regular basis, that aren't attributed to something else.
Common signs of food sensitivities, include:
What are your options if you suspect you have food sensitivities?
There are two main strategies for figuring out your food sensitivities:
What is an elimination diet?
During an elimination diet, you eliminate certain foods for a period of time, usually at least three or four weeks, then slowly reintroduce specific foods and monitor for reactions.
The foods eliminated are the most common inflammatory foods or any you suspect you may be having a reaction to. An elimination diet is the most reliable way to access possible food sensitivities.
Common foods associated with food sensitivities:
Food sensitivities can change over time. Sometimes taking a long break from a food you are sensitive to, then reintroducing it, being careful to not overdo it, will do the trick.
How does testing work?
Option 2 is testing your IgG immune response to the most commonly reactive foods. This option can potentially save some time. You can order a test online or through your doctor.
It usually involves either testing at home, by providing a small amount of dripped blood onto a card that is then sent in, or if the test is ordered by your doctor, having your blood drawn and tested. The results of the test generally show your levels of reactivity to the proteins in most common reactive foods.
When you receive your results, you then follow a more targeted elimination plan.
My recent experience with an over-the-counter test:
I recently decided to try a test that I could order online. I wanted to see if the results were any different than what I had come up with while only doing the elimination diet. I tried the Everly Well Food Elimination Test. You can get ten percent off with this link. If you aren't in the United States or if you want to try something different, there are a few out there. Or, of course, you can have your doctor order an IgG reaction test.
The results.
My results showed that I didn't have any high reactivity foods. I only had one moderate reactivity food which was yogurt made from cows milk. I showed 14 mild reactivity foods which included:
My interpretation of the results:
Initially, I was surprised that I only showed one moderate to high sensitivity and that gluten containing foods only showed a low sensitivity. However, because I have already eliminated gluten from my diet, typically I shouldn't expect to show a high reactivity.
I thought I might have a higher reactivity to dairy products, however, while I don't completely avoid them, they aren't a big part of my diet. Cream in my coffee is the hardest dairy product for me to give up. I also tend to eat eggs a few times a week, and yeast in the form of vinegar. The last two shouldn't be too surprising. I drink a smoothie most mornings with a protein powder containing pea protein, and I often use almond milk.
My plan:
My next course of action should be to follow an elimination diet for 30 days, eliminating all foods with a low reactivity and above.
If I had a higher number of moderate and high reactivity foods, I could start with those and add the others in later. I should (will):
After 30 days, I will reintroduce the foods one at a time.
For example, I might combine egg whites and yolks and have as many as I want for one day. Then for the next three days, I won't eat any, but I will keep track of whether any symptoms return. Then on the fifth day, I could try yeast products or fermented foods. I probably won't reintroduce gluten foods, because I've already covered that one. Although, I'm going to a writing workshop in Italy in late June. So I'll let you know, I might have to eat the pasta! ? I'm only human after all. Be sure to grab your free Food Sensitivity Detective Journal:Fill out the symptom questionnaire before you get started, then eliminate your most likely culprits, fill out the post elimination diet questionnaire, then record the results of the reintroduction phase. Do you have experience with food sensitivities or elimination diets? Please share your story in the comments below!
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