Lesson 4. Do You Have Hidden Food Allergies?

Nutritional guide for Hashimoto’s disease

Food allergies are the most allergies common among others. Based on questionnaire studies, approximately 20% of the population changes their diet because of a perceived adverse reaction to food. However, according to food challenge studies, approximately 6% of infants and young children and 3.7% of adults in the United States have food allergies.

Most people are unaware that they have hidden allergies and that their health issues could be related to eating certain foods because the reaction to food may not be immediate or severe. Eating or drinking something that does not suit you could cause chronic health issues such as migraine, depression, chronic fatigue, irritable bowl syndrome, addictive overeating, asthma or contribute to the autoimmune conditions.

Protein in the food is the most common allergic component that causes the reaction of the immune system. Many people who are suffering from a wide range of chronic illnesses and had failed to respond to conventional treatment could find relief from their symptoms by identifying their food allergies and avoiding those foods.

Food Allergy Promoters

Leaky gut syndrome. Alteration of the gut barrier might lead to a food allergy. Anybody can develop allergies to the foods they eat most often if the lining of the small intestine has become much more permeable.

The IgG food allergy develops when the large molecules of incompletely digested food penetrate through a leaky intestinal lining into the blood stream. As food allergens enter the bloodstream the IgG antibodies bind to the allergens forming food allergen-antibody immune complexes.

These immune complexes circulate throughout the body and if not deactivated by macrophages, they will penetrate the walls of small blood vessels in various vulnerable sites in the body. These immune complexes become sources of constant irritation, inflammation and destruction of body tissues. Autoimmune diseases such as food allergy-induced rheumatoid arthritis or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can then develop.

Modern testing allows to establish what exactly causes the leaky gut so your practitioner knows what to specifically target for faster and more efficient gut repair. If you would like to be checked for leaky gut syndrome you could order the intestinal permeability test through the True Health Labs

Watch the video below to learn about leaky gut symptoms and how it can cause many health conditions and unexplained symptoms.

Genetics. You can inherit IgE immediate onset allergies. If both of your parents have this kind of allergy, there is a 75% chance that you will have it too. If only one parent has it, the probability is between 30 to 40%.

Allergic reactions to peanuts are in part under genetic control. Association with HLA-class 2 genotypes, DRB1*08, DRB1*08/12tyr16, and DQB1*04 genes were found at higher frequency in those with peanut allergies.

Alcohol irritates the digestive tract and damages the liver, making it more permeable and vulnerable to undigested food proteins. This increases the chances of developing an allergic reaction to almost anything.

The most common food allergies found in people recovering from alcohol addiction are gluten and dairy allergies. In addition, individuals who regularly drink alcohol or are under constant stress, under produce digestive enzymes and as a result under digest their food.

Top 20 Food Allergens

The reality is that people could develop food allergies at any point of their lives and experience different symptoms. Food allergies are unique to each individual. However, certain foods are more likely to initiate allergic reactions than others. There are about twenty foods that build a list of most common allergens.

List of common delayed onset IgG food allergies:

You received the information about the wheat and gluten in the previous lesson.

Dairy. Cow’s milk is the most common food allergen that causes immediate IgE and hidden or delayed onset of IgG milk allergies. As with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, most people with high levels of IgG milk antibodies may be symptom free early on but often develop disabling symptoms later.

Most cheeses, cream, yogurt and butter contain milk protein, which is hidden in an assortment of foods. About 25% of people Caucasian origin and 80% of Asian, Native American or African origin do not produce lactase, the enzyme necessary to digest the milk sugar lactose. Lactase deficiency or lactose intolerance leads to diarrhea, bloating, cramping and excess gas.

However, lactose does not cause allergies. The IgG antibodies target milk proteins and show the allergic reaction. A person can be either lactose intolerant or milk protein allergic or both. In fact, lactose intolerance and milk allergy often occur together.

Those with dairy allergies often react worse to non-fat or low fat milk, which has a higher relative protein content than whole milk. Higher amount of fat helps to slow down the absorption of the protein. Allergy to cow’s milk can contribute to middle ear infections, iron deficiency, poor sleep, asthma, eczema, migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue and numerous digestive disorders.

Yeast is found not only in bread as baker’s yeast but also in soy sauce, beer and some wines. Beer and lager are fermented with brewer’s yeast.

Two common signs of yeast allergy:

• You feel worse after beer or wine than you do after spirits such as vodka. Spirits do not have yeast and champagne contains low amounts of yeast because it is produced by double fermentation process.
• If you feel sluggish, tired, bloated or blocked up after eating bread but feel fine after pasta, you may not be allergic to wheat but to the yeast in the bread.

Nuts and beans are part of the same food family, which includes the following immediate onset IgE allergens: peanuts, soybeans, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, almonds and hazelnuts. Coffee and chocolate that both originate as beans are also members of this family.

Allergies to peanuts are always permanent and dangerous even when small amounts are eaten, unlike allergies to other foods like milk and eggs. Children generally do not outgrow allergies to peanuts and nuts.

Eggs can also provoke allergic reactions. Egg white allergies are common and cause both immediate onset of IgE reactions (wheezing, skin rashes) and delayed IgG reactions. Allergy to egg whites is more common than to egg yolks. Eggs also contain certain enzyme inhibitors.

A lot of people who test allergic to garlic also have a reaction to onions because they both come from the same food family and many share common protein allergens.

Another common food allergen is chilli, which is a part of the same family as cayenne and paprika.

Kiwi and citrus fruits are the most common allergens among the fruits. Allergic reactions to kiwi are more occurring in those people who are allergic to latex and to birch pollen.

Achieving A Balance

The good news is that the majority of people can outgrow most food allergies which involve only IgG antibodies, and allows the immune system to reverse its IgG sensitivities.

Early childhood allergy to milk, egg, soy, and wheat are usually resolved by school age in approximately 80% of people. However, celiac disease and IgE based immediate onset food allergies such as peanut, tree nuts and seafood allergies are generally considered to be permanent.

If you suspect that you could have food allergies you should get tested for it. Tests at the True Health Labs includes  the immediate (IgE) food allergy test  and delayed (IgG) testing or “hidden” allergic reactions for about 90 different foods. It gives the information about the body’s immune response to food and environmental substances.

Another way to determine if you have food allergies and sensitivities is elimination diet. During the elimination diet people temporarily avoid certain foods for 2 weeks and then gradually re-introduce certain food groups back into their diet and watch for any symptoms.

This dietary protocol is simple but effectively helps to identify possible food sensitivities that may range from mild or hardly noticeable reactions to severe allergic responses. Elimination diet made right is easy to do at home and often provides more reliable results than food allergy testing in the lab.

Two Major Rules For Reversing IgG Allergies:

1. Elimination of allergic foods from the diet
The first basic requirement of optimum nutrition is a diet free of food allergens. If you strictly avoid food you are currently IgG sensitive to for 3 to 6 months there will be no IgG antibodies produced that target for this food proteins. After this food is re-introduced you should not show any usual allergic reaction.

In the first few days of giving up a suspect food a person may start feeling worse before improvements are noticed. Such foods as sugar, alcohol, coffee, chocolate and tea (especially Earl Grey, which also contains the addictive essential oil bergamot) are highly addictive. Wheat and milk could be added to this list because of their morphine-like effects.

2. Gut repair
It is important to heal the gut in order to reduce allergic potential and restore the integrity of the immune system. The gut repair involves the restoration of the damaged or destroyed intestine that could be done with the use of supplements and making dietary changes.

• Alcohol, aspirin and aspirin substitutes (NSAIDs), overuse of antibiotics, prolonged physical and emotional stress, a deficiency in essential fatty acids, gut infections or inflammation, bacterial overgrowth (candida), lack of good bacteria are all common causes of leaky gut syndrome. In order to reduce the sensitivity to food causing allergies, all issues mentioned above need to be addressed.
• Supplementing digestive enzymes can have positive effect on reducing the allergic potential.
• Immuno-protein supplementation with UltraImmune IgG helps to heal the intestine and restor gut balance after years of gluten induced damage. Most other immune boosting products are less effective for patients with gluten sensitivity and autoimmune disease because they boost the immune system instead of balancing and supporting it.  This is equivalent to trying to boost energy by taking high levels of caffeine.  The end result leads to an overstimulated and overworked immune system.
• Zinc deficiency is very common among allergy patients. It is necessary for production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and for a proper protein digestion.
• A lack of glutamine, vitamin A and essential fats can also prevent proper integrity of the gut wall. Increasing the intake of these key nutrients can decrease allergic potential.

However, it is important to make dietary changes first and know when is the right time to use supplements, because supplements alone will not help. The following life changing video made by the doctor of Functional medicine Karen Brimeyer explains how the leaky gut syndrome can cause autoimmune reaction and what you can do about it.

To watch the video click here

P.S.
If you got here from Twitter or a link from a friend, why not pick up the whole series? This is one of the lessons in a free e-mail course Nutritional guide for Hashimoto’s disease. You can find out more about it and sign up here.

References:

Hidden food allergies: the essential guide to uncovering hidden food allergies – and achieving permanent relief by J. Braly, P. Holford, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2010
Food allergy in gastroenterologic diseases: Review of literature. World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Dec 28;12(48):7744-52.