Food sensitivities causes you to suffer from intestinal symptoms hours or even days after consuming the trigger food. Food sensitivities are quite common, affecting 15-20% of the population according to estimates.
Suffering from food sensitivities can cause uncomfortable symptoms, and most people with food sensitivities tend to eliminate entire food groups, which isn’t healthy since it can lead to deficiencies. However, getting a Sensitivity Test helps you determine specific foods you must eliminate.
Food sensitivities are also linked to other digestive illnesses like irritable bowel syndrome and digestive system disorders. It’s also very common for those with IBS to have other food sensitivities.
You can eat small amounts of that offending food without suffering from symptoms when you have a food sensitivity. However, when you have a food allergy, even trace amounts of the trigger food can cause your symptoms to flare up.
Causes of food sensitivities
There are no definite factors that can cause food sensitivities. However, some factors have been associated with food sensitivities. For example, if your small intestines produce very little of the enzymes required to digest the type of food you’ve consumed, it can cause you to have a food sensitivity.
One of the foods that cause this is lactose sensitivity. Lactose sensitivity is a condition that’s caused by insufficient lactose enzymes, which are meant to break down lactose. When your small intestines produce little to no lactase enzymes, you end up suffering from sensitivity symptoms every time you consume dairy products like milk and cheese.
Food typically breaks down in the small intestines, where your digestive tract produces these enzymes to help you break down different foods. When food isn’t broken down in small pieces, it’s passed on to the colon, where it’s fermented, producing gas, and it takes a lot of water from the colon to pass from the body.
The fermentation in the colon produces gas, and there’s water retention as the colon tries to get rid of the undigested food. All this chaos in the digestive tract causes digestive symptoms, which we associate with food sensitivities.
Irritable bowel syndrome is another condition that causes food sensitivities. Most people with IBS also suffer from multiple food sensitivities because their digestive tract is already damaged. Another condition associated with food sensitivities is a leaky gut. Leaky gut syndrome is an illness that causes the development of food sensitivities due to damaged intestinal walls.
When suffering from digestive illnesses like leaky gut syndrome, IBS and Crohn’s disease, it’s best to get treatment before seeking an elimination diet for food sensitivities. The vulnerable state of the intestinal tract causes food sensitivities in such cases. However, when these conditions are healed, many find they’re no longer affected by food sensitivities.
Sometimes a food sensitivity is caused by a sensitivity to food additives and sulphites. Some people’s digestive tracts can’t handle the preservatives used in most preserved foods. In such cases, it’s best to stick to fresh foods and ones that aren’t as processed or don’t contain chemicals like sulphites.
Food sensitivity symptoms
Food sensitivity symptoms vary from one person to the next. The severity often depends on how much of the trigger food you’ve consumed and your sensitivity level to that specific food. Common food sensitivity symptoms include:
- Bloating
- Diarrhea
- Migraine or headache
- Excess gas
- Malaise
- Joint pain
- Stomach pain
- Constipation
Food sensitivity symptoms take a while to appear. After ingesting a trigger food, you can expect to suffer from symptoms hours later or even days after. Even though the symptoms of food allergy and food sensitivities seem similar, it can be easy to tell the difference when it comes to the onset of the symptoms since allergies take a shorter time to show signs.
Food sensitivity test
If you’ve been suffering from food sensitivities, getting a sensitivity test is the best way to deal with your situation. There are two main types of sensitivity tests that you can find. The Ultimate Individual Sensitivity Test and the Standard Sensitivity Test are great for individuals. The difference between these two tests is the number of items tested.
The standard test kit tests for 625 sensitivities, while the ultimate individual test checks for 975 food items. If you’re looking for a couple’s test, you can also find that, and so can you do a family test. These bundles of tests under both ultimate and standard tests help you get the tests at a discounted price when you need more than one test.
You can pick a test depending on your needs and how many food and non-food items you want to test for sensitivity. The test results you get from the sensitivity test check will help you figure out the foods you need in your diet and the ones causing you symptoms that need to be eliminated.
How to manage food sensitivities
While you can’t wholly treat food sensitivities, you can manage the symptoms using over-the-counter medicines for different symptoms. You can take medication like antacids or antidiarrheals to help ease the symptoms.
You can also pick a diet that eliminates the food you’re sensitive to. For example, if you’re suffering from lactose sensitivity, you need to eliminate dairy products from your diet and substitute them for plant-based products like milk and cheese. If you have gluten sensitivity, then you also need to invest in gluten-free flour and avoid all foods that contain gluten.
However, people with lactose sensitivities are fortunate because, upon accidental consumption of lactose, they can take over-the-counter lactase pills that will help them digest dairy products easily without too much trouble.
Final thoughts
Food sensitivities are caused by the body’s inability to digest certain foods. When you think you may have food sensitivity, it’s essential to get tested by a doctor to see if you have any underlying conditions. If there aren’t any, then it’s safe to assume you only suffer from food sensitivities without any underlying conditions. In this case, you can take a Sensitivity Test that will point out which foods your body is sensitive to so you can eliminate them from your diet.
