Ever had a gut feeling that something in your diet was giving you problems like headaches or belly pain–but you couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was?
Food sensitivities (also called food intolerances) are different from food allergies, which are immune responses that can result in life-threatening reactions. If you have a food allergy, you must avoid that food completely and may need to carry an Epi-pen with you in case of exposure.
Food sensitivities aren’t typically life-threatening but definitely affect quality of life, with symptoms ranging from migraines and bloating to brain fog and fatigue.
For example, if you’ve tested negative for celiac disease but still feel gassy or fuzzy-headed after eating wheat, you may have gluten sensitivity. You can have lactose intolerance, which means you don’t have enough of the enzyme needed to properly digest milk sugar, but not a milk allergy. Or you might notice that you feel nauseous after eating a certain food or that another triggers headaches.
So how can you figure it out? You may be tempted to order a food sensitivity test that claims to identify problem foods with a drop of blood. These DIY kits measure something called IgG, an antibody made by the immune system.
But just because these antibodies are present doesn’t mean you have trouble with that food. In fact, those antibodies may simply signal that your body is familiar with that food.
Yet the results may cause people to needlessly eliminate foods, even perfectly healthy ones. That can lead to an overly restrictive diet and missing out on nutrients you need, like calcium in dairy or fiber in grain foods.
Instead, do some detective work yourself. Track what you eat, note when your symptoms happen, and see if you can spot any patterns. If you do, temporarily eliminate one food at a time and see if your symptoms improve. It’s possible you’ll feel better without the food or you may be able to eat a small amount and do okay.
You can also talk to a doctor or dietitian about ruling out other conditions and getting testing such as breath tests for intolerances to fructose (the natural sugar in fruit) and lactose, food allergy testing, or a blood test for celiac disease.
Bottom line:
Food sensitivities are not the same thing as food allergies. They still affect quality of life, but they can be hard to pinpoint. Cutting out foods (especially whole groups of foods like all dairy products or anything containing gluten) can mean you’re missing nutrients. So do some detective work and talk to your doctor about proven tests first.
–Sally Kuzemchak, MS, RD
