Food Sensitivity and Symptoms

Jessie Lan, HK BioTek Intern

Normally, when people think of discomforts due to food they have consumed, they think of common food allergies caused by food like seafood, nuts, and their immediate reactions such as hives, itching and swollen parts of bodies. However, there are a lot of other reactions that may be caused by food but people do not realize the connection between such reactions and food. This type of reaction is known as food sensitivity. Food sensitivity is when the body detects the food that causes sensitivity, it produces IgG antibodies which would lead to a delayed response of reaction that might not appear for hours or even days after the intake of the specific food. This delay in reaction causes people to overlook the connection between the food and the reaction.

The IgG antibody circulates around the body via blood and causes inflammation at different places, therefore leading to unique symptoms. Symptoms of food sensitivity may vary from person to person and appear in different systems of the body but some common food sensitivity symptoms are eczema, chronic acnes, fatigue, bloating and gas, skin rashes, muscle ache, headaches, runny nose, congestion and sleep disorders.

It may seem hard to see the connection between food and sleep but studies have shown that individuals may be sensitive to certain foods that when consumed leads to sleeping problems. In this study this individual experienced a hard time falling asleep, was a light sleeper, and used to wake up multiple times during the night and had a hard time falling back to sleep. Tests showed that she was very sensitive to dairy, eggs and banana. She then eliminated these food from her diet. After three to four weeks, she felt that her sleeping conditions have become a lot better. She no longer wakes up in the middle of the night and no longer suffers from insomnia. This is because her body no longer produces the corresponding IgG caused by the food she is sensitive, and therefore the symptoms no longer showed.

Source: https://www.bewell.com/blog/knowing-the-difference-between-food-allergies-and-food-sensitivities/