What is Food Sensitivity & the Hidden Relationship to Autoimmunity

Having a food sensitivity or food intolerance can cause significant stress on your day-to-day life as well as your overall health. You may not be able to eat your favorite foods without side effects or may feel nervous about eating in restaurants. But what is food sensitivity? Food sensitivities are different from food allergies, which can lead to more of an immediate acute response, such as rashes and swelling that can land you in the hospital with things like anaphylaxis. Food sensitivities are lower grade, and they occur on a regular basis. You might not even be aware of the fact that you have a sensitivity at all.

Common Food Sensitivities

Commonly known food sensitivities today include gluten and dairy. A lot of people think you can have a small amount of gluten or a little bit of dairy and you’re okay, but the fact is that when you start to develop a food sensitivity, that means your immune system is starting to target that food as if it was an invader. As that continues to grow, your reaction can get bigger, and it can grow over time. Although gluten and dairy are the more common culprits, there are plenty of other foods you can have a sensitivity to such as:

• Eggs
• Corn
• Grains
• Peppers
• Nuts
• Soy

Symptoms of Food Sensitivity

An estimated 20 percent of the world’s population suffer from some kind of food sensitivity. Food intolerances primarily impact the digestive system, but they may also manifest in other ways such as:

• Developing strange rashes
• Experiencing brain fog
• Gastrointestinal upset
• Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Joint pain or swelling
• Abdominal pain

What Causes Food Sensitivity?

Food sensitivities can end up being anything your immune system is exposed to in an unnatural way. If the body cannot make enough of a particular enzyme that the digestive system needs to break down a certain food or ingredient, it can cause food sensitivity. Certain gastrointestinal conditions may make you more prone to developing food sensitivities as well.

Many times, you may be suffering from a leaky gut, which means a permeability in your gut lining that allows foods to come into your bloodstream and particle sizes that are too big compared to normal. So, if you’re breaking down those foods into tiny little particles, that will get them into the spaces in your gut lining. If your gut lining gets bigger, and the particles that are not broken down also get through, your immune system looks at those as being a big protein, invader, or something that it can’t recognize. As a result, it starts making an antibody against it.

In turn, every time it gets exposed to this unknown invader, it could create a response, reaction or trigger an inflammation in your immune system leading to an attack on that food. This also leads to follow up issues in the rest of your body, like increased inflammation or even possibly autoimmunity.

Food Sensitivity and Autoimmunity

If you are developing drastic reactions to food sensitivities or having strange symptoms that continue to pile up over time, or the immune system seems to be reacting to everything, that means that it’s not necessarily a specific food that’s the problem, but your immune system itself.

In this type of case, we need to look at what is driving the immune system out of balance on a chronic basis. It could be things like infections or inflammatory processes. Sometimes we’re exposed to toxins in our environment through our foods or even the air. If you eat foods that have been raised with chemicals like pesticides and herbicides or antibiotics, those get in your gut and can start to provoke a reaction in your immune system, increasing its activity and cause it to start to attack more things than it normally would, leading to more sensitivities and more reactions.

As you’ve now learned, food sensitivities can cause a host of other issues to occur, including autoimmunity. Have you been suffering from chronic symptoms that you cannot explain? I have created a webinar called Autoimmunity Finding Solutions That Last that can answer these questions and more. Sign up to attend my free webinar today, it just might change your life.

At Whole Body Health, we do not treat symptoms or suppress body functions. We are different from mainstream medicine. Medications compete with the body’s innate ability to control itself. Our approach focuses on being the detective to find what your body is missing, provide that and remove what it doesn’t need so you can heal naturally!

Don’t wait to get motivated, to take better care of yourself, to develop symptoms or to realize your life is precious. You have the power to make a choice and decide how you want to take care of yourself and your family. You can make a positive impact on your health. Make your health a priority today.

If you’ve got more questions on what is food sensitivity, reach out to us, we’re here to help. If you’re interested and, in the Vienna, VA area, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. David Gustitus by filling out our new patient intake form. You can also call us at (571) 378-0108 or reach out to us via email. We’re located at 8391 Old Courthouse Road, #350, Vienna, VA 22182.