Many people suffer from adverse reactions to common, everyday foods. In fact, approximately 15 million Americans and over 10% of children in the United States have allergies to foods. A food allergy occurs when your immune system mistakes food for an enemy and attacks it. This attack directed at food leads to the unpleasant reaction one experiences with food allergies.  In some cases this can even cause a life-threatening response in body. Other, less dangerous symptoms of food allergy include: hives, nausea, diarrhea, nasal congestion, itchy mouth or ears, cough or sneezing. Common food allergens include peanuts, mild, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, shellfish, soy and sesame. It should be noted however that almost any food can cause an allergic reaction. Many people do not realize that food allergies and food intolerances are not the same. The difference between these two immune system responses are discussed in more detail below.

Allergy Testing

A true food allergy is not the same problem as a food intolerance. For a food to be classified as a food allergy it must trigger an immune system response that involves a specific class of antibodies. Unlike a food intolerance, food allergies are what we call “IgE mediated.” This means the immune system is producing excessive amounts of IgE antibodies in response to the offending food and these antibodies cause the allergic response. Testing for food allergies usually involves a skin prick test or blood test. Unfortunately, testing for food allergies is not always accurate and your health problems might be caused by a food intolerance and not a food allergy.

Over 50% of blood tests and skin prick tests for food allergies will indicate false positive results. A false positive response means the test results indicate you are allergic to the food being tested when in fact you are not. Different factors can cause this inaccuracy in testing but one of the most common reasons for false positive results is due to the fact that testing foods on the skin may not produce the same immune system response as actually eating the food and having it enter the body and digestive tract.

Sometimes blood tests for food allergies are not accurate because the immune system is confused between two or more similar foods. For example, you may have an allergy to peanuts but the test results indicate you are allergic to soy and beans too. This is because peanuts, beans and soy belong to the same family of foods (legumes). So the test results may indicate you are allergic to soy and beans, even though eating soy or beans does not cause an allergic response in your body.

Food Allergy and Food Intolerance

As you can see, getting reliable testing for food allergies can be challenging. The immune system is very complex and there are many variables to consider. To

complicate things further, the immune system can “overreact” or “fail to tolerate” foods in other ways. Foods can trigger the immune system in other ways and this is what we call a food intolerance. A food intolerance is called a “non-IgE mediated” food hypersensitivity; the immune system is once again involved but the reaction is not driven by an IgE antibody response.

This is where taking a functional medicine approach to food and the immune system can be beneficial. This is because most allergists who perform skin prick tests and IgE blood tests for food allergies do not believe in food intolerances or they are unwilling to test for them.  In our office, we not only consider food allergies but we are also aware of the possibility of food intolerances. We can guide you through the confusing world of food allergies and food intolerances and help you determine if certain foods are contributing to your health issues.

Many of our new patients have already had food allergy testing performed but have not been tested for food intolerances. To make things even more confusing, several symptoms of food allergy are the same as food intolerance like: cough, runny nose, stomach pain, digestion problems, hives and bloating. Food intolerances can also cause many other health problems like brain-fog, achy joints, anxiety, depression and chronic inflammation in the body. Food intolerances can also play a key role in autoimmune diseases. It has been our experience that many more chronic health issues are due to food intolerances than to food allergies.  In our office we offer a variety of blood tests that can help determine if you suffer from food allergy, food intolerance or both.

Discovering if foods are contributing to your health issues can make the difference between success and failure in reaching your wellness goals. If you suspect that certain foods may be affecting your health, contact our office for a consultation; we can have worked with food-related health issues for over 17 years.

If you would like more information about functional medicine or Dr. Sexton go to www.napervilleintegratedwelness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources.