Symptoms of Food Sensitivities and Food Intolerances

• General Symptoms: Fatigue and food cravings
• Skin:  Eczema, unexplained rashes, allergic shiners (dark circles under the eyes), red face and ears
• Digestion:  Stomach aches, loose stools or diarrhea, constipation, alternating diarrhea and constipation
• Respiratory:  Mucus production, congestion
• Neurologic: Headaches (e.g. migraines), ringing in the ears, tingling, dizziness, tics
• Cardiovascular:  Abnormal pulse, elevated blood pressure
• Immune, Inflammatory, and Autoimmune Reactions
• Psychological: Depression, mood disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, aggression, sleep disorder
• Behavior/Development:  AD/HD symptoms (decreased attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity), mood swings, irritability, anxiety, autism symptoms (poor eye contact, social withdrawal, decreased language, obsessions, repetitive behaviors).

Causes of Food Reactions: The Digestive Connection

Normally when food is digested in the small intestine (the upper part of the intestine), they break down into their smallest components: proteins to amino acids, fats to fatty acids, and carbohydrates to simple sugars.  Along with nutrients, these are allowed to cross the lining into the bloodstream, where they travel to other parts of the body, including the brain.

A critical part of this healthy system is the lining of the intestine.  This lining needs to be a good barrier so that foods cannot enter the bloodstream until they have been fully digested.  It functions like a window screen, letting in good air but not the larger items like flies or harmful bugs.  When the intestinal lining is damaged, potentially large food molecules can enter the bloodstream – like holes in the window screen letting in bugs.  This condition is commonly referred to as “leaky gut,” since food molecules leak through the microscopic holes in the intestinal lining.

Many children with autism or AD/HD have problems with their intestinal lining.  These children also may not have enough digestive enzymes or the body may not release them at the right times or in sufficient amounts.  The type of food that causes the most problems for children with autism or AD/HD is protein, specifically proteins from milk, wheat and soy however a host of other foods may also be culprits.  Dietary proteins (fish, fowl, meat, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts, seeds, and grains) consist of many chains of amino acids and are not useful until they are broken down into individual amino acids by digestive enzymes.  The foods themselves are like dollar bills that will not work in a coin machine.  They must first be broken down into individual coins (amino acids).  Visualize these proteins as long metal chains, with each link being an amino acid; digestive enzymes break the connection between links and free the amino acids (links) for further use.  The amino acids are very small and are absorbed through the intestinal lining into the body.  The amino acids can then be put back together in different combinations to make peptides and proteins again.  These can be useful to build important structures in the body, such as muscle, or to send a message in the form of a hormone or neurotransmitter.

During digestion, not all of the amino acid chains are completely digested.  What results are short chains of amino acids called peptides.  The peptides, however, are large and should not be absorbed unless the gut is damaged and, therefore, too permeable or leaky.  Think of amino acids as Scrabble letters.  Peptides are the “words” made from those letters.  Depending on how the letters (amino acids) are arranged, different “words” peptides are formed.  The body arranges these “words”.  If, however, the letter arrangement does not spell a “word”, the body considers it to be foreign.  Likewise, if the intestinal lining is damaged, the body may consider the peptides that leak into the bloodstream to be foreign.  If they are not recognized because they are foreign, the body sends specialized cells to get rid of them.  When the peptides spell “words” the body recognizes, the body allows them to remain.  If the “words” have receptors in the brain, they may cross the brain and send a signal.  If the signal is not one that should normally occur in the brain, there can be a short circuit in the brain functioning.  This can contribute to many of the symptoms seen in children with AD/HD or autism.

Autism and AD/HD are not the only conditions where food sensitivities become issues.  Any kind of inflammatory issue such as Chron’s or Celiac Disease, fibromyalgia, or IBS can be enhanced by food sensitivities.  Here at a healing place…, we offer patient specific blood testing for these sensitivities.  As well, we can direct patients to appropriate supplementation of digestive enzymes to help the process along.  If you have any further questions about IgG/Food sensitivity testing, contact our office today at 678-947-3316.