Food Sensitivities
Is Your Food Making You Sick?
Food and food-chemical sensitivities are a highly complex category of non-allergic (non-IgE), non-celiac inflammatory reactions. They involve multiple mechanisms and may be governed by either innate or adaptive immune pathways. They are one of the most important sources of inflammation and symptoms across a wide range of chronic inflammatory conditions. They are also one of the most clinically challenging.
Due to their inherent clinical and immunologic complexities, as well as a lack of general knowledge within conventional medicine of their role as a source of inflammation in IBS, migraine, fibromyalgia, arthritis, GERD, obesity, metabolic syndrome, ADD/ADHD, autism, etc., food and food-chemical sensitivities remain one of the most under addressed areas of conventional medicine.
Clinical Complexities
Food and food-chemical sensitivities have clinical characteristics that make it very challenging to identify trigger foods. For example, symptom manifestation may be delayed by many hours after ingestion; reactions may be dose dependent; because of a breakdown of oral tolerance mechanisms, there are often many reactive foods and food-chemicals; even so-called anti-inflammatory foods, such as salmon, parsley, turmeric, ginger, blueberry, and any “healthy” food can be reactive.
Medical Conditions Where Sensitivities Can Play a Primary or Secondary Role
Gastrointestinal
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Functional Diarrhea
- GERD
- Crohn’s Disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Microscopic Colitis
- Lymphocytic Colitis
- Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
Endocrine
- Obesity
Urological
- Interstitial Cystitis
Gynecological
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Neurological
- Migraine
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Epilepsy
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Restless Leg Syndrome
Musculoskeletal
- Fibromyalgia
- Inflammatory Arthritis
Dermatological
- Atopic Dermatitis
- Urticaria
- Psoriasis
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome