food sensitivities
What are allergies and how do they develop?
Food intolerances are far more common than many people believe. Food allergy is a term which is often used erroneously to describe what are actually food intolerances. Allergies are sensitivities to certain substances which the majority of people find harmless. By definition, an allergy involves an immunologic reaction between an antigen (example: food, chemical, inhalant) and an antibody produced in the body. Most reactions to food do not involve this classic antigen-antibody reaction and therefore many traditional allergists do not believe that food creates health problems for many individuals. The allergists believe that only a few people have food allergies. For them there is a short list of foods which cause only a few possible symptoms. These symptoms include urticaria, anaphylaxis, rhinitis and stomach problems.
Over 30 million people in the United States suffer at some time from known allergies, ranging from mild to severe. Allergies are one of the most prevalent causes of illness in the Unites States. The number of substances to which people are exposed to has gone up dramatically in the last few decades. Some of the foods we consume all the time are foreign to us, at least in terms of our genetic backgrounds. For example, soy and corn were not eaten in Europe where the majority of Americans have their genetic roots. Intolerances can affect any organ system of the body. They may include rhinitis, breathing problems, digestive problems, itching skin, hives, eczema, rash, headaches, insomnia, hyperirritability, anxiety, depression, and concentration problems.
With food intolerances it is important to remember that not only must the foods be avoided, but emphasis must be placed on building health using therapies which aid the immune system.
Why me?
The combination of genetics, timing, and exposure clearly influences the development of an overly sensitive immune system. If both of your parents have allergies, you have a 70% chance of following suit. If only one parent has an allergy, there is a 30-60% chance you will develop an allergy. However, it does not have to be the same allergy as your parent(s). If your mother smoked while she was pregnant you have 4 times the risk of anyone else for developing an allergy-whether or not you also have a family history of allergy.
The time immediately after birth and weaning seems to be when the human organism is particularly susceptible to exposure and development of sensitivities. Being born or weaned during or immediately prior to the peak season of pollen increases the risk of sensitization to a particular allergen. This has been shown for grass, birch, and ragweed allergies. If you are exposed to cow's milk at any time in the first 6 months of life, you're more likely to be allergic to it than someone who had no exposure in those early months of life. A person's degree of susceptibility may also depend on metabolic factors such as increased or decreased thyroid activity, adrenal insufficiency, and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Sensitivities involve a dysfunctioning of the immune system. The environmental stresses (air, water and noise pollution, synthetic chemicals), personal stresses, and unnatural lifestyles with which we must cope alter the immune system's ability to cope with antigens. Symptoms develop when a person exceeds their tolerance. By eliminating the offending foods, one can be more tolerant to environmental allergens. Eliminating suspect foods may prevent a reaction to pollens, dust, animal dander etc., which may be in your immediate environment. This could partly explain why a person may react to a food one time and not another.
Reactions to food
Most people who are sensitive to food are unaware of it because the reaction may be delayed for many hours after ingestion. In addition, the reaction may last for many days. If a food has not been eaten for some time and then is ingested, a reaction may happen fairly quickly.
For example, if a person is sensitive to wheat, each time they eat wheat, they will transitorily feel better. When they stop eating the wheat, there may be an initial period of feeling worse which is followed in time by feeling better. After avoiding the wheat for some time, a large portion of wheat may cause the symptoms to reoccur dramatically.
When one is unsure of one's food intolerances, it is possible to have a complex mixture of masking effects, withdrawal effects, and re-introduction effects. The relationship of the symptoms to food will be far from clear. Patients with food sensitivities frequently behave as if they were addicted to foods, with a reaction being stopped or lessened by a second feeding, in the same way the cocaine addict's unpleasant withdrawal symptoms are alleviated by a snort of cocaine. As a result, patients often crave foods which are the cause of their symptoms.
Food intolerances can have a significant effect on your health and are implicated in a variety of diseases. Although the avoidance of food intolerances can make for challenging diet planning and result in juggling of common foods, it can also be the start of a new and varied way of eating. The health benefits are well worth the effort.
(Thom)
footnotes