What is a food sensitivity?
A food insensitivity, or food intolerance, develops when your body can’t digest a specific food. You can develop this problem for many reasons. You may:
- Lack the enzyme needed to digest the food
- Have a reaction to preservatives or additives
- Have a sensitivity to an ingredient like fructose
- Have a gut problem that interferes with digestion
Many people are sensitive to chemicals commonly found in some foods, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), amines produced by bacteria in old food, and caffeine.
What symptoms might I develop due to a food sensitivity?
Whether or not you develop symptoms depends on the severity of your sensitivity. If your intolerance is mild and you eat a small portion, you may not have any symptoms. It’s also common for symptoms to be delayed, so you may not associate them with eating.
When symptoms do appear, you experience one or more of the following.
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Bloating or gas
- Heartburn
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Skin rash
- Hives
- Fatigue
When food sensitivities go untreated, toxins can get into your bloodstream, travel through your body, and trigger chronic inflammation. Then you can develop more serious problems such as muscle pain, anxiety, migraines, and brain fog.
What is the connection between food and histamine?
Food and histamine are connected in two ways. First, many foods contain histamine, which you digest, and it enters your bloodstream. The two are also connected through mast cells.
Mast cells are highly specialized immune system cells found nearly everywhere in your body, but especially in your gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. They guard you against harmful substances by releasing chemicals.
Histamine is one of the chemicals mast cells release. In some cases, foods can trigger mast cells to over-release histamine.
When high levels of histamine overload your body, you develop many possible symptoms, ranging from hot flashes, skin lesions with itching and redness, and the burning of acid reflux, to headaches, gastrointestinal pain, and a frozen shoulder.
What is a food sensitivity analysis?
Dr. Baginski performs a food sensitivity analysis to identify which food is responsible for your symptoms. He begins by evaluating your diet and symptoms to narrow down the possible culprits.
If he suspects lactose or fructose, you take a quick breath test to confirm they’re a problem. He may recommend an elimination diet that removes the suspected foods then gradually reintroduces them to see which, if any, cause symptoms.
Depending on your symptoms, Dr. Baginski may perform one of several lab tests as part of your food sensitivity analysis, such as:
- Blood testing for immunoglobulin G antibodies
- Antigen leukocyte cellular antibody test (ALCAT)
- Mediator release test (MRT)
If you struggle with gastrointestinal or skin symptoms, call the office of Leon Baginski, MD FACOG, or schedule an appointment online for a food sensitivity analysis.
