Most often, inflammation is rooted in the gut and caused by food sensitivities. These days we encounter an epidemic of chronic health issues resulting from inflammation. By understanding the gut in more detail, we have the capacity to decrease inflammation without the use of medications that have long lists of side effects and don’t solve the underlying issue.

 

The important thing to realize about inflammation is that it can appear in any part of the body, including hormone systems, the brain, and the cardiovascular system. The evidence for this is unquestionable. This being said, it is very important to identify foods that may be stimulating our immune system and having detrimental downstream health effects.

 

Testing for food sensitivities has its controversies, but it can be a very useful starting point. IBS and Crohn’s disease respond best to IgG testing but are clinically applicable in many other illnesses. The tests reveal gut complaints, chronic fatigue, depression and anxiety, and autoimmune issues, to name a few.

 

Limitations of food sensitivity testing:

 

1. They test only limited immune reactions and do not show non-immune food reactions

Food sensitivity testing is not perfect, as it is only testing a very select part of the immune system. Parts of the immune system most often tested are IgE (true allergy), IgA (mucosal immune system), and IgG (delayed food sensitivities). A negative test does not exclude a reaction by the innate immune system, or a non-immune reaction (like lactose intolerance, FODMAP intolerance, or histamine intolerance).

 

2. Laboratory standards differ

The accuracy of testing can vary from lab to lab, depending on which controls and which antigens they use. For example, an organic apple may have different reactivity to one that is not organic. Heat and processing or roasting may make an antigen more or less antigenic. Whether the lab uses monoclonal antibodies (from one source) vs polyclonal antibodies (from many sources), can also affect the reactivity of the test.

 

3. Individual and confounding factors

False positives may result from smoking, alcohol consumption, periodontal disease and other factors. False negatives may result from immunoglobulin deficiencies. Lab tests may not pick up individual differences in immunoglobulins which could also skew results.

 

Testing often shows reaction to antigens which should be ‘healthy’ foods. This situation is often caused by increased intestinal permeability. Something like gluten may trigger leaky gut, allowing bystanders to leak through the gut layer and stimulate an immune reaction. Gut repair is essential in resolving this.

 

 

With all these confounding factors, how do you figure out what you are reacting to?

The gold standard of figuring of food sensitivities is with an elimination diet. This means taking out the common allergenic offending foods for a period of 3-4 weeks minimum and then slowly reintroducing them one by one. A positive test results when a reaction to the reintroduced food occurs.

 

In an ideal world, every patient with a chronic health condition should go through an elimination diet. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. In many cases, people do not believe that their health condition is related to food and so are not willing to change their way of eating.

 

The benefits of food sensitivity testing:

Enter the food sensitivity test. Though not all testing is perfect, this can be an extremely useful tool in figuring out major food triggers. Keeping the above limitations in mind, improvements in symptoms should occur with removal of the offending foods. The proof is in the pudding: people very often do get dramatically better when they remove the positive foods on the tests.
 

When they do not get better after a trial of elimination, a skilled health care professional will guide the patient to work through different steps based on their history, physical examination and testing, to figure out what is causing their symptoms.

 

Reasons people don’t get better:

  1. Gut healing not done alongside the removal of the problem foods. Much research around gluten removal with or without gut repair, has been done. A large percentage of patients do not improve symptomatically when the gut repair is not undertaken. This involves replacing pancreatic enzymes, gallbladder support, and stomach acid and healing the lining of the gut.
  2. The person is reacting to food in a different way. They may have histamine, salicylate, or oxalate intolerance or a lectin intolerance and respond to a grain and legume-free diet. They could also have fructose intolerance.
  3. They may have dysbiosis, or overgrowth of bacteria/ yeast or parasites (often interrelated with food sensitivities). Because of this they may have FODMAP intolerance (with SIBO) or may react to foods that trigger candida, like sugar.
  4. They have a misunderstanding about which foods contain the antigens they are reacting to or are being inadvertently exposed to. A common example is gluten, found in many spices, teas, toothpaste, etc.
  5. Their symptoms may not be directly related to the gut and can be related to heavy metal toxicity, biotoxin illness (mold commonly causes gut issues) or autonomic imbalance.
  6. They had a false positive test.

 

The good news

The aim is not to be off the offending food forever – the aim is to figure out why someone is reacting in the first place. If you heal your gut and eliminate correctly, you should be able to eat most things again but some people may need to stay off certain foods lifelong. The most common of these are gluten, dairy, and eggs.

 

The bottom line is that food sensitivity testing is far from perfect, but it is very often a starting point to guide a patient in the right direction and motivate lifestyle changes. The important take home is to ask why the food reactions are happening in the first place. On many occasions, people become frustrated because they follow the elimination of the foods found on their tests and they don’t feel better. It is essential to have an experienced health care provider interpret your food sensitivity test in the context of what your issues are so that you can be guided in the right direction and achieve the best results.

 

References

Bentz, S., Hausmann, M., Piberger, H., et al., (2010). Clinical relevance of IgG antibodies against food antigens in Crohn’s disease: A double-blind cross-over diet intervention study. Karger – Digestion 81(4), 252-264. https://doi.org/10.1159/000264649

 

Drisko, J., Bischoff, B., Hall, M., & McCallum, R. (2005). Treating irritable bowel syndrome with a food elimination diet followed by food challenge and probiotics. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 25(6), 514-522. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2006.10719567

 

Guo, H., Jiang, T., Wang, J., et al., (2012). The value of eliminating foods according to food-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea. Journal of International Medical Research 40(1), 204-210. https://doi.org/10.1177/147323001204000121

 

Meletis, C.D., & Barker, J. Delayed-onset food allergies (2004). Alternative and Complementary Therapies 9(2), 61-65. https://doi.org/10.1089/107628003321536968

 

Uzunısmaıl, H., Cengız, M., Uzun, H., et al., (2012). The effects of provocation by foods with raised IgG antibodies and additives on the course of Crohn’s disease: A pilot study. Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology 23(1), 19-27. DOI: 10.4318/tjg.2012.0332

 

Zar, S., Mincher, L., Benson, M.J., & Kumar, D. (2005). Food-specific IgG4 antibody-guided exclusion diet improves symptoms and rectal compliance in irritable bowel syndrome. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 40(7), 800-807, https://doi.org/10.1080/00365520510015593

 

Author

Dr. Michelle van der Westhuizen, MD

We are not alone! We live in harmony with hundreds of millions of other organisms and a plethora of different good bacteria that are detrimental to gut health. These bacteria are located mainly in our gut, or gastrointestinal tracts. They have a symbiotic relationship with us. We provide them with a warm, nutrient-rich environment and they aid our digestion and fight off harmful microorganisms. This balance is a delicate one.

 

Listen to Your Gut

 

A number of factors disturb the gut’s microbiome like poor food choices and disease. As a consequence, we suffer from digestive symptoms, inflammation, autoimmune issues, and poor health. One of the best ways in which to promote gut health is to regularly take probiotics. Probiotics introduce helpful bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract.

 

These compact, encapsulated bacterial colonies are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here, we provide guidance on specific probiotics to address each patient’s specific needs.

 

 

 

Benefits of Probiotics

 

Probiotics Attack Harmful Organisms

The purpose of probiotics is to attack harmful organisms in the body. Bacteria using nutrients, water, and other resources is the recipe for a healthy gut ecosystem. This leaves little room for harmful microorganisms. Probiotics encourage the growth of good bacteria, crowding out the bad ones. Certain probiotics have even shown antimicrobial activity in laboratory settings that mimic the human stomach. In 2017, researchers published results showing that lactic acid bacteria in probiotics discouraged the growth of intestinal pathogens and prevent intestinal infections. 1

 

Probiotics Regulate Digestion

It has long been known that healthy gut flora is a necessity to retain regulate our bodies and offer good digestion. This is why broad-spectrum antibiotic use causes diarrhea. Antibiotics kill infection and the normal and helpful bacteria in your gut. This leads to poor water absorption and diarrhea. Probiotics are often advertised as helpful for regularity, and this is no exaggeration. Interactions between gut bacteria and carbohydrates keep constipation at bay and help ensure that food flows smoothly through the digestive system. Proper nutrient absorption needs good bacteria.

 

Probiotics Help Maintain a Healthy Weight

People who have diverse and healthy gut bacteria tend to be leaner. A 2013 study published in Nature confirmed this premise.2

 

Good gut bacteria helps with a number of metabolic issues, including insulin resistance and lipid status. Functional Medicine physicians find that obese patients lose significant weight.

 

Probiotics Control Food Allergies

The environment and poor diet affect the normal gut microflora negatively. This can contribute to the development of food allergies and food sensitivities. The reverse is true, as well. Robust and healthy gut bacteria tend to resist the onset of food allergies. A study published in 2017 strengthened this assertion, finding in mice that, “The present study supports the theory that probiotics can treat food allergy by modulating specific genera of the gut microbiota.”3

 

Probiotics Positively Affect Many Diseases

Research remains in the early stages. Promising evidence exists that probiotic therapy, in conjunction with a healthy diet, may help a wide range of diseases. These include such ubiquitous problems as high blood pressure4, fatty liver disease5, cardiovascular disease6, and even some mental disorders.7

 

Functional Medicine has always proclaimed body systems are interrelated, with the gastrointestinal system being of particular importance. At Linden & Arc Vitality Institute, we are uniquely equipped to provide advice, diagnosis, and treatment plans. To book a consultation, contact us at [email protected]

 

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286570
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23985870
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28337267
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28315049
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28298269
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28293920
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28291971

 

About the author:

Dr. Murfin is wholeheartedly focused on her life’s mission to help people heal and achieve extraordinary outcomes. She believes that health is more than merely the absence of disease. It is a total state of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellbeing through the creation of a whole and meaningful life. Dr. Murfin leaves no stone unturned to determine the root cause of illness or imbalance.