Food Allergies Food allergy is one of the leading causes of potentially life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and a public health concern in Canada, especially in children. An estimated 50% of households are either directly or indirectly affected by food allergy. This means 1-in-2 Canadian households are impacted by food allergy. As there is no way of predicting how severe an allergic reaction may be and no known cure for food allergy. Diagnosing and avoiding the allergenic food is required to prevent a reaction. (source: foodallergycanada.ca) You or someone you know may have experienced unpleasant symptoms after eating. Symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, rashes, brain fog, joint pain, nausea, bloating, diarrhea, or another symptom are often related to foods eaten. The reason for these symptoms could be a food allergy, a food intolerance, celiac disease, food sensitivities, Oral Allergy Syndrome (cross reactions that occurs with certain foods when a person has seasonal allergies), or Histamine Intolerance. This is important, because some of the reactions can range from just annoying to life-threatening. Below is a description of each. Remember - each individual case in patients is different. Naturopaths can help identify causes of reactions of foods as well as help in guidances with diet and supplements that can support patients.
Food intolerances Food intolerance refers to the inability to process or digest certain foods. The most common known food reaction is lactose intolerance. Intolerance can develop at any age - from infants to seniors. Infants may be unable to digest lactose. As we get older, our ability to digest dairy may decrease. With age, our intestines may make less of the lactase enzyme that processes lactose, a type of sugar present in milk and dairy products. As a result of the decreased lactase, we have more lactose sitting in the digestive tract. This can cause stomach bloating, inflammation, and diarrhea. Research has found that only about 35% of people worldwide can digest lactose beyond the age of about seven or eight.Lactose intolerance can be quite uncomfortable. Avoiding dairy products is a way to avoid symptoms. Some sources of dairy, like milk, tend to produce more severe symptoms than others, like yogurt and cheese. Lactase enzyme supplements can also help.
Food allergies A more severe problem happens when someone is born with or develops a true allergic reaction. A food allergy is an overblown response by the body’s immune system against a seemingly harmless substance. In this case, a food. The classic example is the potentially life-threatening difficulty breathing and low blood pressure following exposure to allergens such as peanuts or seafood. Food allergies can show up at any time in our lives.If you think you may have a food allergy, consider IgE Blood allergy testing to identify by your doctor, an Allergist or a Naturopath to confirm the allergen if you are unsure of what is causing your allergy reactions especially if your symptoms are severe (significant rashes, feeling of passing out, facial swelling, and problems breathing). With severe allergies it is important to read ingredient labels. Carrying epinephrine shots in case of accidental ingestion or contact with the food in question is essential and can be lifesaving.
Celiac disease Celiac disease affects about 1% of the Western population. In this autoimmune condition, the ingestion of gluten initiates a complex inflammatory reaction that can make people with celiac disease ill. Celiac disease is not an immediate IgE type allergy - as mentioned above with peanuts and fish. Eating gluten once does not cause an immediate life-threatening problem. However, prolonged and continuous ingestion can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, malnutrition, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies such as B12 and Iron.The blood tests that are run to diagnose celiac disease are the tissue transglutaminase test (tTG) or the anti-endomysial (EMA) antibody test, which measure the autoimmune response triggered by gluten that occurs at a point in time. Avoiding gluten is the only solution to this problem. Gluten is found in a variety of grains, which include wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, and farina. Many processed foods can also contain gluten. People with celiac disease must also be careful about cross-contamination, when a gluten-free food comes into contact with a gluten-containing food as well as checking hygiene products such as soaps and shampoos for gluten ingrediants. Once Celiac Disease is diagnosed by Lab testing of Antibodies, Naturopaths work to guide patients with diet and gut healing as well as addressing deficiencies that are present.
Food sensitivities After eating certain foods, many people experience symptoms that are not related to food intolerances, food allergies, or celiac disease. These reactions are referred to as food sensitivities. In some people, exposure to specific foods may create an immune reaction that generates a multitude of symptoms. Some symptoms can include joint pain, stomach pain, fatigue, rashes, and brain fog. Gluten is probably the best-known trigger of food sensitivities.To identify food sensitivities, Naturopaths utilize Labs that test for IgG and IgA food reactions. As well, elimination diets recommend removing certain foods believed to cause reactions from the diet for two to four weeks, and then reintroducing them one by one, and watching for symptoms to identify what may be causing symptoms. A Naturopath can provide guidance for undertaking an elimination diet, and can help you understand limitations and avoid possible pitfalls. Removing certain foods can help limit undesirable symptoms and improve your quality of life.Food reactions, especially sensitivities, can change over time. Our bodies, immune systems, stress, hormones, and the gut microbiome are continually changing, and contribute to this symptom picture. At some point, you may consider reintroducing small amounts of a food that you have been sensitive to, to see what you may be able to tolerate. Though food reactions are common, they can be challenging to understand. Identifying the cause can be difficult and time-consuming, but it is worth the time and effort. Once you’ve identified the problem, and the food or foods that trigger it, a Naturopath help you develop the most comprehensive diet that is safe for you. A Naturopath will work with you to identify your allergies, sensitivities or intolerances and help develop plan with both diet and if necessary, supplements to repair and supplement your digestive system.
Oral Allergy Syndrome - Why Symptom Improvement May Not Occur After Elimination of Offending Foods The cross-reactivity between fruits, vegetables, and pollen that occurs in hay fever sufferers is also called oral allergy syndrome, due to the fact that many of the symptoms that occur after consuming an offending fruit or vegetable occur in the mouth, lips, tongue, and throat. There is some indication that the symptoms occur more often after consuming uncooked fruits and vegetables, and that consuming the foods cooked does not result in symptoms in some subjects. In other cases, the reaction to the offending food is more severe. Regardless of whether a food is raw or cooked, some patients consuming a cross-reacting food will go into anaphylactic shock. And some patients who have pollen-related food allergies also have gastrointestinal symptoms. When the allergy season arrives, many patients are focused on avoiding pollen from trees and grasses. Yet, they're not always aware of an important fact—if they're reacting to tree and grass pollen, they are also are likely reacting to specific foods as well. And if they're eating those foods at the same time as they're suffering from hay fever, they're only going to make their pollen-related allergies worse. Key Takeaways: - Cross-reactivity can be seen in people who are allergic to pollen and also have allergy symptoms when exposed to certain food groups. - In adults, up to 60 percent of all food allergic reactions occur because of cross-reactions between food and pollen. - Birch pollen cross-reacts with hazelnuts, apples, celery, carrot and soy. - About 50 to 60 percent of people who are allergic to latex also have "latex-fruit syndrome," where they develop adverse reactions after consuming cross-reacting vegetables and fruits including bananas, avocados, chestnuts, kiwis, chickpeas and bell peppers. - Pollen from olive trees, ragweed and grasses also cross-reacts with a variety of food. - Non-pollen related cross-reactions include Candida's association with yeast and gluten-containing foods cross-reacting with coffee, dairy, oats and yeast. (source: USBiotek - https://www.usbiotek.com/blog/how-food-allergies-environment-collide) Common Cross-Reactions Between Pollen and Food Birch Pollen: apple, carrot, celery, pear, tomato, cherry, tree nuts Goosefoot Pollen: banana, melon, peach (infrequently: nectarine, asparagus, kiwi, potato, olive, onion) Mugwort Pollen (Weed): carrot, celery, aniseed, peach Ragweed Pollen: melon, cucumber, banana, sunflower, echinacea Timothy Grass: apple, litchi, tomato, celery, corn, bell pepper, paprika (Source: www.foodintolerances.org)
Histamines Intolerance and Allergies, and the Role of Hormones Similar to allergies and food sensitivities, histamine intolerance may be another cause of your adverse food reactions. However, histamine intolerance is not well understood by most people and can be tricky to diagnosis. Histamine is a chemical that has many functions in the body. It is found naturally in certain foods and is best known for its powerful actions during an allergic or inflammatory reaction. Histamine intolerance occurs when you have too much histamine than your body is able to effectively break down (1). The main enzyme in your body responsible for breaking down histamine is called diamine oxidase (DAO). Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance include: Headaches or migraines Runny nose Nasal congestion Diarrhea Asthma Low blood pressure Hives and/or itching Chronic fatigue Irregular menstrual cycles Anxiety Dizziness And many more. Causes of Histamine intolerance include inflammation in the digestive system which produces the DAO enzyme. This leads to a reduced production of the enzyme. Genetics may also play a role. Some people may have an impaired ability to break down histamine due to a genetic polymorphism in the DAO gene. Women tend to experience more histamine intolerance than men, which may be related to an imbalance of female sex hormones. Female patients may experience worsening symptoms of histamine intolerance before or during their period. Some animal studies have shown that mast cells which release histamine within endometrial tissue are most significant during this premenstrual phase. Estrogen is also thought to activate histamine release from immune cells. So, if the amount of estrogen produced is much higher than the amount of progesterone—as seen in estrogen dominance—more histamine is released and may lead to worsening symptoms (2, 3). Addressing Histamine Intolerance is individual and includes avoiding histamine containing foods (some are listed below), healing the digestive system and balancing in flora and adding in DAO enzymes when necessary, as well as balancing hormones.
Foods to avoid on a low-histamine diet: Alcohol Fermented foods, like kombucha, yogurt, and sauerkraut Aged cheeses Avocados Dried fruit Eggplant Spinach Smoked meats Shellfish Tomatoes Leftover food over a day old
How Do Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc Work in Our Bodies?
Vitamin D Vitamin D has important roles in addition to its classic effects on calcium and bone homeostasis. The vitamin D receptor is expressed on immune cells (B cells, T cells and antigen presenting cells) and these immunologic cells are all are capable of synthesizing the active vitamin D metabolite. Vitamin D has the capability of acting in an autocrine manner in a local immunologic milieu. Vitamin D can modulate the innate (first initial line of defence to protect the body against invading disease-causing organisms) and adaptive/acquired (more complex immunological memory response involving B and T Cells that takes days or even weeks to become established in the body) immune responses. When an innate (initial) response is insufficient, the Adaptive response is activated to fight an infection. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity as well as an increased susceptibility to infection. As immune cells in autoimmune diseases are responsive to the ameliorative effects of vitamin D, the beneficial effects of supplementing vitamin D deficient individuals with autoimmune disease may extend beyond the effects on bone and calcium homeostasis. The immune system defends the body from foreign, invading organisms, promoting protective immunity while maintaining tolerance to self. The implications of vitamin D deficiency on the immune system have become clearer in recent years and in the context of vitamin D deficiency, there appears to be an increased susceptibility to infection and a constitutional predisoposition in a genetically susceptible host to autoimmunity.(1)
Vitamin C Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress. Vitamin C accumulates in phagocytic cells, such as neutrophils, and can enhance chemotaxis, phagocytosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately microbial killing. It is also needed for apoptosis and clearance of the spent neutrophils from sites of infection by macrophages, thereby decreasing necrosis/NETosis and potential tissue damage. Vitamin C has been shown to enhance differentiation and proliferation of B- and T-cells, likely due to its gene regulating effects. Vitamin C deficiency results in impaired immunity and higher susceptibility to infections. In turn, infections significantly impact on vitamin C levels due to enhanced inflammation and metabolic requirements. Furthermore, supplementation with vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections. Prophylactic prevention of infection requires dietary vitamin C intakes that provide at least adequate, if not saturating plasma levels (i.e., 100–200 mg/day), which optimize cell and tissue levels. In contrast, treatment of established infections requires significantly higher (gram) doses of the vitamin to compensate for the increased inflammatory response and metabolic demand.(2)
Zinc Although the essentiality of zinc for plants and animals has been known for many decades, the essentiality of zinc for humans was recognized only 40 years ago in the Middle East. The zinc-deficient patients had severe immune dysfunctions, inasmuch as they died of intercurrent infections by the time they were 25 years of age. In studies in an experimental human model of zinc deficiency, research scientists documented decreased serum testosterone level, oligospermia, severe immune dysfunctions mainly affecting T helper cells, hyperammonemia, neurosensory disorders, and decreased lean body mass. Zinc also is an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory actions. The therapeutic roles of zinc in acute infantile diarrhea, acrodermatitis enteropathica, prevention of blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration, and treatment of common cold with zinc have been reported.(3)
(1)Aranow, Cynthia. “Vitamin D and the immune system.” Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research vol. 59,6 (2011): 881-6. doi:10.2310/JIM.0b013e31821b8755 (2) Carr, Anitra C, and Silvia Maggini. “Vitamin C and Immune Function.” Nutrientsvol. 9,11 1211. 3 Nov. 2017, doi:10.3390/nu9111211 (3)Prasad, Ananda S. “Zinc in human health: effect of zinc on immune cells.” Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) vol. 14,5-6 (2008): 353-7. doi:10.2119/2008-00033.Prasad
*The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or recommended treatments. For health concerns, diagnosis, and treatments, please contact your health care provider.