Four signs that you might have a food sensitivity

When it comes to a food allergy, making a diagnosis is pretty black and white. The typical allergic reaction occurs immediately after you ingest a certain food, and the symptoms—often a rash, hives, or swelling—are unmistakable.  They can often be severe and, in some cases, life-threatening.

A food sensitivity, however, is trickier to pin down.  Symptoms often don’t occur until several hours or even days after you eat a problematic food and, even then, they can be vague and difficult to link to your diet.

In the United States, food sensitivity has become an epidemic, largely fueled by the process of genetically modifying food.  Genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs, have been created in a lab and do not exist in nature. Gluten, dairy, corn, and soy are among the most common culprits when it comes to both GMOs and food sensitivity. An estimated 18 million Americans suffer from gluten sensitivity alone, and those are the people who have figured it out!  So many millions more experience symptoms that indicate a food sensitivity every day, but they remain unclear as to the cause.

Let’s look at four signs that you might be dealing with a food sensitivity, along with a brief explanation of how each symptom occurs.

Weight gain or inability to lose weight

You’ve tried every diet out there, but nothing seems to work for you. You’re constantly hungry, no matter how much you eat.

When you suffer from a food sensitivity, it causes chronic inflammation, which messes with your brain’s ability to communicate with hormones. One of these hormones, leptin, is released after you eat so that you feel satisfied and burn more calories. When your brain doesn’t receive messages from leptin, you become what’s termed leptin resistant:  you continue to feel hungry even after a big meal and you don’t burn off enough calories to make a difference in your metabolism and weight. What’s more, high leptin levels have been tied to illnesses like high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and high blood sugar.

Fatigue

No matter how much sleep you get, you are exhausted. You find yourself dozing off during the day, you’re irritable, your thinking is fuzzy, and you’re constantly grabbing sugary and starchy snacks for energy.

A meal should energize you, not drain you or numb your mind and body.  However, when your body is sensitive to a specific food, it causes an inflammatory response in your digestive system, causing your adrenal glands to release cortisol as an anti-inflammatory. This puts extra stress on your adrenal glands and leaves you feeling fatigued.  Whenever you eat the food that causes this reaction, it’s the equivalent of letting a foreign invader into your body and the immune system responds to it as just that: an invader.  The energy your immune system spends fighting this invader is another reason for your fatigue. The resulting inflammation makes you insulin resistant; i.e. your cells no longer respond to insulin.  In addition, craving (and eating) a lot of sugary foods may make your blood sugar drop too low and create hypoglycemia, adding to that sense of physical and/or mental fatigue. 

Migraines and headaches

You notice that your headaches tend to occur when you eat certain foods, several hours after a meal, or even when you wake up the next morning.

A headache of any kind is a sign of inflammation in your head; that’s why the conventional treatment is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like Advil, Motrin, Aleve, and Aspirin. It’s not surprising, then, that food sensitivities could be to blame for your headaches. An inflammatory response to something you consumed can cause your immune system to react, resulting in tremendous head pain.  For example, dairy in its many forms can trigger a migraine.  A recent study showed that 56% of people who had been diagnosed with migraine headaches actually had an underlying gluten sensitivity.  Additional research on migraines shows that food allergies and sensitivity due to IgG antibodies are a major contributor to this high level of headache pain.  

Joint pain

You’re all-over achy, but there doesn’t seem to be any logical reason. You’re too young for arthritis, but you’re not a hardcore athlete, either.

This is another case of food sensitivity leading to inflammation.   Here, you’re experiencing an inflammatory response in your joints. So many people are dealing with chronic pain for which their doctors can’t accurately pinpoint a valid cause.  Often a food sensitivity to nightshades, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers, is the reason. If you’re sensitive to nightshade vegetables, your issues might resemble those of people who are gluten sensitive, so joint pain is a common symptom.  It is claimed that more than three-quarters of people suffering from various forms of arthritis are sensitive to nightshades.  Any other illnesses with symptoms of bodily pain, including fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and tendonitis, may well be a result of nightshade sensitivity.

If any of the four symptoms resonate with you, there’s a good chance that food sensitivities are to blame.  

Steps to reverse food sensitivity

1. Do a food elimination and provocation diet.
2. Get tested for antibodies to foods.
3. Eat as much whole, unprocessed food as possible.
4. Eliminate the big four:  gluten, corn, dairy, and soy.
5. Avoid toxic additives in food, personal products, and the environment.
6. Eat more organic food and avoid GMOs.
7. Build up your gut through prebiotics and probiotics.
8. Include food and supplemental sources of Omega 3 fatty acids daily.

I help clients break through their weight loss resistance by identifying food sensitivities, and they can’t believe how much easier it becomes for them to release excess weight.  I’d be delighted to work with you and to share these same strategies with you. Imagine the joy you’ll experience when you finally are able to stop yo-yo dieting and start feel great!

Are you dealing with any possible food sensitivity issues?  Which of the symptoms listed above are a regular part of your life?