Allergies can result in life-threatening reactions. Food sensitivity results in milder symptoms such as diarrhea, gas or bloating but also create inflammation that drives many pathologies and prevents improvement.
Your immune system protects you from dangers that are coming from outside and trying to disrupt the functioning of your body. It will give you signals, so you understand something is off. These signals can look and feel like anything you consider to be physical symptoms of distress.
For example, when you catch a virus, the reaction to it can range from the rush to fever to dizziness, depending on what kind of virus it is. And when your immune system is weakened for whatever reason and cannot effectively protect you, bacteria and viruses that lay dormant in your body can activate and create a serious chronic health condition.
Intolerance and Immune Response
You need to eat to survive, and typically there is no way around it. The food goes into you and has to undergo a series of modifications to become nutrients your body needs.
But if this food, rather than providing you with vital nutrients, irritates your intestinal lining and disrupts your immune system, you need to know it and do something about it. The faster you know it – the better chances you have to heal your body.
The immune system response is your body’s way of letting you know that you may be intolerant or sensitive to certain foods. A reaction to food is an abnormal response in the gastrointestinal tract that can occur for different reasons. The common misconception is that if you are tested positive for particular food sensitivity, it’s for life. Unless the reaction is an anaphylactic shock, like a peanut allergy, the intestinal lining can heal, and the immune system will react to that food appropriately.
Sometimes there may not be enough of a particular enzyme to digest a particular food correctly. Other times, the immune system creates antibodies to proteins in specific foods. When the immune system reacts to food in this way, it can lead to inflammation and irritation of the intestine when eaten. Food allergies are distinct from food sensitivities.
What is Food Sensitivity?
Allergies can result in life-threatening reactions. Sensitivities result in milder symptoms such as diarrhea, gas or bloating but also create inflammation that drives many pathologies and prevents improvement.
Symptoms associated with food sensitivities:
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Constipation
- Gas or bloating
- Poor absorption of valuable vitamins and minerals
- Gastro-esophageal reflux
- Hives, rash, eczema, or edema
- Joint pain and inflammation
- Headache or migraine
- Decreased immune function
- Diarrhea or soft stool
There are a few different technologies to detect allergies and sensitivities. You might be familiar with the skin prick test measuring the reaction a person has to a particular substance. There are recent tests that are similar to the skin prick, but it’s a blood serum test that makes it much safer because it doesn’t expose a person to these antigens potentially causing a severe reaction. The serum test is also more sensitive, and therefore, more accurate.
This blood test analyzes the serum levels of IgG, IgG4, IgE antibodies, and a compliment protein for different food antigens identifying major food groups and foods with these groups. It accurately detects where specific food is located on the scale of severity of the immune system reaction.
So, to the question, “Is broccoli good for me?” It depends.
When you have your results along with the schedule of a rotational diet, you can revisit your daily nutrition, stay away from significant irritants, and temporarily stay away from any irritants until your intestinal lining is healed. If you have any symptoms, they will start clearing out. In fact, the quality of your life will get better when your immune system is regulated and at peace.
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If this information piqued your curiosity, let me know by emailing me maya@doctormayaclinic.com and ask for more interesting and relevant information.
