It is estimated that 1/3 of the population has allergies. Some of these are caused by airborne substances such as pollen (hay fever), dust mites, cat fur, chemicals in food, household products or environmental factors. Still, a fairly common substance that triggers allergic reactions is the food we eat. In a survey of 3,300 adults, it was found that 43% had had an adverse food reaction.

If you have 3 or more of the symptoms listed in the chart below, you may have an allergy and are probably allergic to the foods you eat. The most common allergy-inducing foods are as follows:

Milk, gluten-containing grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats), yeast, nuts, eggs, beans, wheat, scalloped fish, mellitus-containing grains (wheat, rye, barley), and shellfish;

If you are consuming one of the foods 2 to 3 times a day and find it difficult not to eat them, it is well worthwhile testing to see if you are are allergic to these foods.

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Symptoms associated with food allergies

What is an allergy

The classic definition of an allergy is "a specific reaction in which the immune system is significantly involved". The immune system is the body's defense system that marks substances that the body does not like. A typical marker is an antibody called IgE (immunoglobulin type E), which binds to mast cells in the body. When an unwanted food, called an allergen, is ingested, the allergen binds to its specific antibody IgE and IgE molecules then prompt the mast cells to release a number of histamine- and other chemical-containing substances. The IgE molecules then cause the mast cells to release particles containing histamine and other chemicals, causing an allergic reaction. Typical symptoms of allergic reactions are rashes, hay fever, rhinitis, sinusitis, asthma and eczema. Severe food allergies, such as allergic reactions to foods such as shellfish or nuts, can cause acute gastrointestinal disturbances or swelling of the face and throat, which are symptoms of a severe acute inflammatory reaction known as a type 1 allergic reaction.

How IgE-Based Allergic Reactions Occur

Hidden Allergic Reactions

However, the majority of allergies are not based on reactions to IgE. There is now a new thinking as well as a new generation of allergy tests to detect allergic reactions that are not based on lgE antibodies. This most likely involves another marker, which is IgG. allergist Dr. James Braly is the current pioneer of the relevant cutting-edge testing technology, which is the enzyme-linked immunoassay for IgG to test for allergens. According to him, "Food allergies are not uncommon and their effects are not limited to the respiratory, skin and digestive tracts. Most food allergies are delayed reactions, showing symptoms after l hour, or even until 3 days, so they are difficult to detect. Delayed food allergies appear to be due to the inability of the digestive tract to prevent large amounts of partially digested and undigested food from entering the bloodstream, and the body reacts to these undigested components".

IgG antibodies were first discovered in the 1960s. lgG antibodies act like a label and don't trigger severe acute reactions. But a large accumulation of lgG antibodies to a particular food can produce a chronic, long-term sensitivity, or intolerance, to that food. It is now well established that this intolerance does not produce acute symptoms, but has a delayed cumulative effect. This is what makes such allergic reactions so difficult to detect by observation alone. Dr. David Hill of the Allergy Screening Unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, found that most children with food sensitivities did not have a reaction until two or three hours after eating. In contrast, reactions to IgE were immediate. This suggests that the accumulation of IgG antibodies may be a major factor when it comes to food sensitivities.

How IgG-based allergic reactions occur

Dr. Jonathan Brostoff, a consultant immunologist at the Shaw Medical School in Middlesex, mentions that when the body ingests certain specific substances, it can cause the release of histamine and typical allergic symptoms in a process that doesn't involve IgE. These substances include lectins (found in peanuts), shellfish, tomatoes, pork, wine, chocolate, pineapple, artichoke squash. Buckwheat, sunflower seeds, mango and mustard greens. He also believes that undigested proteins may indirectly affect the mast cells of the intestine (containing histamine), which causes the typical allergic reaction.

A common cause of allergic reactions is the development of an immune response to allergens in the blood, which results in the production of a considerable number of antibodies (mainly IgG), which in turn leads to the formation of large immune complexes. It's all about quantity", says Rostov, "these immune complexes circulate in the blood like garbage". The body relies on neutrophils, which act as vacuum cleaners, to get rid of this garbage.

Why Food Allergies Develop

Does what you eat actually want to be eaten by you? Have you ever wondered, for the most part, they don't seem too willing. Many foods do what they can to protect themselves from predators - through thorns, spines, or chemical poisons. The saying "all food is good" is far from the truth. Most foods contain not only beneficial nutrients, but also a large number of toxins. For omnivores like humans, food is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. We try a variety of foods and assume that they are problematic as long as we don't get sick, but this kind of rapid-fire testing fails many times. Even the most common meals of the day are potentially deadly when consumed over a long period of time.

Some foods are born to be eaten. For example, many fruits depend on animal foraging to reproduce. In other words, animals, like us humans, eat the fruit and then carry the seeds a long way, dumping them in the soil along with the nutrient-rich fertilizer "coating. Similarly, fruits have to protect themselves from decay-eating organisms such as bacteria or fungi that can rot the seeds. Seeds are generally difficult to crack and are poisonous, such as almonds, which contain cyanide. For reasons of self-preservation, foods in the wild have powerful and well-stocked "arsenals" to defend themselves against specific enemies. Humans and food have been fighting each other for survival since the beginning.

So why does food intolerance occur? Is it simply a reaction to the poisons contained in food? The question can't be that simple. After all, humans have been evolving for millions of years and have learned how to protect themselves against chemical poisons through complex detoxification pathways. These complex detoxification reactions occur primarily in the liver. Multiple theories have existed on this subject, some of which are not without evidence.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

The best place to address allergic reactions is the digestive tract. Textbooks tell us that large food molecules degrade into simple amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars. Only these small molecules can enter the body, and any large molecules are considered foreign. So is it possible that the end-digested food, or the leaky gut wall, exposes the immune system to food fragments and causes a reaction? This may explain why frequently eaten foods are more likely to cause a reaction. Studies have now shown that those with food allergies have a higher incidence of leaky gut wall problems.

Leaky gut syndrome can be caused by alcohol consumption, frequent aspirin use, a lack of essential fatty acids, gastrointestinal infections, or an infestation of the gastrointestinal tract with pathogens such as Candida infection. This syndrome requires treatment in order to reduce one's food sensitivities. Deficiencies of certain key nutrients, such as zinc deficiency, can also cause problems with an incomplete intestinal wall.

Digestive Enzymes

The problem of leaky gut walls can be particularly severe for people whose bodies do not produce enough digestive enzymes, because a lack of digestive enzymes results in a large number of undigested food molecules reaching the gut wall. A study of sensitivity to man-made compounds showed that 90 percent of those with insufficient digestive enzyme production had insufficient amounts of a particular digestive enzyme, compared to only 20 percent of healthy controls. Poorly digested foods may increase the chances of localized reactions, increase the amount of large molecules of food entering the bloodstream, or feed harmful bacteria in the intestines, allowing them to proliferate. Taking a complex digestive enzyme supplement can often alleviate the symptoms associated with food allergies and food intolerances. Since zinc deficiencies are extremely common in people with allergies, taking zinc supplements can also be beneficial. Zinc not only plays a role in protein digestion, but is also essential for stomach acid production.

Cross-reactivity

Another factor that can cause food sensitivities is exposure to respirable substances that can cause an immune response. It is well known that when pollen levels are high, more people get hay fever in polluted urban areas than in rural areas, even though pollen levels are lower in cities than in rural areas. It is generally believed that it is car exhaust that makes allergic people more sensitive to pollen. Whether pollution weakens the immune system, making it less able to deal with additional pollen stimuli, or whether it is a "cross-reaction" between some allergens, is unclear. In the United States, ragweed pollen allergies are common, and there are reports of cross-reactivity between ragweed and bananas. In other words, one allergy makes you more sensitive to another. For people with hay fever, this cross-reactivity often occurs between pollen, wheat, and milk.

A new view, which is gaining acceptance among allergists, is that food sensitivities are a phenomenon triggered by a variety of factors that can involve nutritional deficiencies, contamination, digestive problems, and overexposure to a particular food. Not being exposed to such foods may help the immune system to regain function, but it is also important to address other associated factors in order to achieve lasting improvement in food intolerance.

Food Addiction or Allergy

There is an interesting finding among people with food allergies; they tend to be addicted to a certain kind of allergy-inducing food, bingeing on the foods that are most damaging to them. Many claim that these foods give them pleasure or anesthesia. It is true that in some cases, foods can cause mild pleasure and can be used as a psychological escape mechanism when you are in a bad mood. Why would food cause a reaction similar to that experienced after taking drugs? When pain is no longer part of the survival mechanism, a chemical called endorphins are released. This substance is a natural analgesic that makes you feel good. They bind to specific sites that "turn off" the feeling of pain and "turn on" the feeling of pleasure. Opiates such as morphine have the same chemical structure as endorphins and bind to the same sites, so they can relieve pain.

Endorphins, whether produced by the body or taken as medication, are peptides. Polypeptides are small units of certain amino acids bound together - somewhere between the size of a protein and an amino acid. Ingested proteins are first turned into peptides, and then as digestion continues, they become individual amino acids. In the laboratory, endorphin-like polypeptides are made from wheat, milk, barley and corn using the body's digestive enzymes. These peptides bind to sites on the endorphin receptor. Preliminary studies have clearly shown that certain foods (mainly wheat and milk), may give a good feeling in the short term, but in the long term, may lead to some health problems.

Often, the foods that don't work for you are the ones that Hugh "just can't live without". This is precisely why many allergies occur. If you stop eating the suspect food, you may feel worse than before for a few days before your health improves. Some foods are addictive in their own right, such as sugar, alcohol, coffee, chocolate and tea (especially Earl Grey black tea, which contains the distinctive flavor of bergamot). You may not be allergic to these foods, but still experience adverse reactions. Wheat and milk could also be included in this list, as they both have similar effects to endorphins.

Reducing Potential Allergy Risk

There are several possible reasons why people become allergic, including a lack of digestive enzymes, leaky gut, frequent exposure to foods that contain irritants, immune deficiencies that lead to hypersensitivity of the immune system, and an imbalance of the microenvironment in the intestinal tract that leads to the onset of leaky gut syndrome - and of course, there could be a lot of There are certainly many other reasons. Fortunately, there are methods available to test for digestive enzyme deficiencies, leaky gut syndrome, and the balance of bacteria and yeast in the gut, and they can be done at home.

While testing for and avoiding foods that cause allergic reactions, there are a number of ways to reduce the risk of allergies in order to settle the gut and the immune system:

﹡ Take a complex digestive enzyme preparation (lipase, amylase, and protease), which helps digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Because zinc and vitamin B6 are needed for stomach acid and protein-digesting enzymes to work, you should consume 15 milligrams of zinc and 50 milligrams of vitamin B6 each day, along with some digestive enzymes at each meal.

﹡ Leaky gut can be cured. The cell membrane consists of a fat-like substance. Butyric acid can help heal leaky gut , and its optimal daily dose is 1,200 milligrams. Vitamin A is extremely important for maintaining healthy mucous membranes and intestinal walls. Taking 5 grams of powdered glutamine with water every day before bedtime can also cure leaky gut syndrome.

﹡ Some beneficial bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, can calm the digestive tract where an immune response is occurring, thus reducing the potential risk of an allergic reaction occurring.

﹡ Strengthening the immune system likewise helps to minimize any allergic reactions that may occur.

How to detect allergies and intolerances

There are two ways to detect what foods you are allergic to. One is called "informed trial and error". It involves not eating the suspected food for 14 days and recording everything that happens during that time. This method is described below.

Pulse test

Most people's symptoms disappear within 14 days of not eating the allergic food. Most people have another allergic reaction within 48 hours of eating the food, while others may have a delayed reaction of up to 10 days. This delayed reaction is difficult to detect. For some of these people, the improvement in symptoms is very noticeable when the allergic food is not ingested, while for others, the perceptible change is not obvious.

A simple way to detect suspicious foods is the pulse test. This involves avoiding all suspicious foods for 14 days before starting to eat them one by one, testing one food every 48 hours. Separate measurements are taken of your pulse while sitting and resting before eating, and 10, 30 and 60 minutes after eating. If your pulse does not increase significantly by more than 1O beats and you do not experience any uncomfortable symptoms, including weight gain, then abstain from that food, wait 24 hours, and test the next food.

Although it is difficult to identify specific symptoms and specific triggers, after 14 days of abstaining from a suspected food, the symptoms often lessen and then worsen significantly when the food is reintroduced. In this way, it is possible to know which food or drink is bad for you. It's important to look at these symptoms accurately because you may already have preconceived notions about whether some foods cause allergic reactions, or you may have gotten the information from others, including me, or you may have been frightened by your allergic reaction to that addictive food.

If you have had a severe or life-threatening allergic reaction, I recommend that you do this avoidance/reintroduction test very carefully and only under the supervision of a senior dietitian.

Avoidance/reintroduction testing to determine allergies. If the food causing the allergic reaction is avoided, you may experience an improvement in symptoms within 14 days. If the food is reintroduced, symptoms may return.

IgG allergy testing - the gold standard

The delayed allergic reactions to many foods in avoidance, reintroduction testing can be caused by either:

﹡ You did not suspect the foods, and did not avoid these foods.

﹡ You became suspicious of a food that might cause allergy, but not of another allergic food, so you remained in an allergic reaction and did not observe any difference when you removed a food from your diet.

By contrast, the best way to detect which food is causing an allergy is an enzyme-linked immunoassay called a quantitative IgG antibody test. "Quantitative" means that this test not only detects whether you are allergic, but also how much of an allergic reaction you have. Stronger allergic reactions can lead to a variety of problems, including weight gain. Enzyme-linked immunoassay is an applied technique that is currently used by the best laboratories in the world that study allergies, and it is the most accurate testing system available. To explain how the test works and why it works so well, I need to start with a little bit about the immune system.

Your immune system can make very sophisticated weapons that can be targeted to block and expel substances from your body in the same way that locks and keys can be tightly coupled. They're like bodyguards that keep out wheat if you're allergic to it. These bodyguards are called immunoglobulins, or Ig for short, and there are different types. While most allergies are associated with IgG reactions, the one that really carries weight is IgE. IgE reactions are usually swifter and more violent. Most of the "hidden" allergic reactions that can cause you to gain weight are caused by IgG. It's best to check for both, but I usually start with IgG sensitivity to foods.

The good news is that everyone can now be tested with a "home kit". The kit contains an ingenious device that painlessly pricks your finger; collects the blood in a small tube and sends it to a lab. Then you can find out exactly what you're allergic to. Your body doesn't lie. Maybe you have a labeled wheat IgG bouncer, maybe not. Your diluted blood is introduced to a "detector" of liquid food, and if you have IgG for that food, an allergic reaction will occur.

Major Foods that Cause Allergies

Here are some common foods that people are allergic to:

Milk

Milk allergy is the most common type of allergy. Most cheeses, creams, yogurts, and butter contain milk as an ingredient, and this ingredient can also be hidden in a variety of foods. This particular ingredient, sometimes called "casein", is actually milk protein. Logically this is not surprising, as milk is an extremely specialized food, designed for calf growth in the first few months of life, and contains a variety of hormones. However, it is not the sugar in milk, lactose, that causes an allergic reaction, but the proteins in it. If you're allergic to cow's milk, it doesn't necessarily mean you're allergic to goat's milk. (However, many people are allergic to both types of milk.) So it's best to avoid all dairy products for 3 weeks and then start trying goat's milk, cheese or yogurt.

Yeast

This is found in bread, wine, and although in somewhat smaller amounts, beer and cellar beer are produced by adding brewer's yeast. If you feel worse after drinking beer or wine than you do after drinking spirits (the purest of spirits is vodka), then you may have a yeast allergy. Does this mean you can't drink alcohol? It doesn't. Drinking spirits and champagne is fine. Champagne is produced through secondary fermentation, which means it has much less yeast used for fermentation. Some people think they are allergic to wheat because they feel sick after eating bread. If you get slowed down, fatigued, or brain-dulled after eating bread, but feel fine after eating pasta, then you may not be allergic to wheat, but to the yeast in the bread.

Wheat

More people are allergic to this grain than any other. Wheat contains gluten, which is a sticky protein also found in rye, barley and oats. A study by the University of Maryland found that about 1 in 100 people are allergic to gluten, but hospitals diagnose less than 1 in 1,000 people with gluten sensitivity. So, 90% of people may not be tested for this allergy. There is a substance in gluten called maltolysin, which is the substance that causes allergies in so-called gluten-allergic people. In fact, rice, buckwheat, corn and maize are gluten-free, but there are still people who are allergic to corn. In this case, the only recourse is to do a food intolerance test.

Alcohol

Alcohol causes allergic reactions in some people and has an irritating effect on the digestive tract in everyone. This irritating effect prevents the digestive tract from digesting food proteins, increasing the risk of an allergic reaction. This is why people feel worse when they drink alcohol while eating foods they are allergic to. For example, you may have only a mild allergy to wheat and milk and still feel good after eating either, but if you consume both at the same time and add alcohol to the mix, you'll feel terrible.

The good thing is that with IgG-induced allergies, if you strictly avoid the allergy-causing food for 6 months, you won't have an allergic reaction later. This is because the immune system no longer produces IgG antibodies to that food and the body has forgotten the memory of the allergy to that food. This is not the case with allergies caused by IgE, which the body never seems to forget.