Could It Be a Food Sensitivity?
Despite common belief, food sensitivities don't always present themselves as digestive issues.
I’ve seen gluten sensitivities manifest as skin issues, exacerbated hormone imbalances, joint pain, congestion, brain fog and mood disorders. For me it shows up as anxiety, which is no surprise as neurological symptoms are actually the second most common way that gluten sensitivities present.
The symptoms are so wide reaching because a sensitivity to gluten results in elevated inflammation, and inflammation contributes to many issues in the body.
What you should also know is that food food sensitivities are not always a life long issue. Often times a sensitivity is due to a damaged gut and once healed, the foods can be reintroduced without posing an issue.
Common Symptoms Of a Food Sensitivity
Fatigue
Brain fog
Memory issues
Anxiety
Depression
Skin issues: Eczema, Acne, Rashes
Inflammation
Joint pain
Muscle pain
Congestion (including snoring)
Restless sleep
Headaches, migraines
Alopecia (hair loss)
Indigestion, bloating, cramping, gas
Constipation or diarrhea
5 Most Common Food Sensitivities
Gluten
Dairy
Corn
Soy
Eggs
Testing
The gold standard for testing food sensitivities is doing an elimination diet, as blood tests can be fairly unreliable. If you can have both, great, but how you feel in your body — which an elimination diet looks at — is always king.
An elimination diet is where you remove the suspected food for a period of time, closely observe how you feel, reintroduce it, and closely observe any changes. If you feel better without a certain food it's a sign that it's not an ally for your body. If this is the case, you may need to eliminate the food entirely, or just have it occasionally. Again, we all have different tolerance levels when it comes to our food sensitivities.
Note that to test accurately, you have to fully and completely eliminate the food so that it has time to get out of your system. The average elimination diet is 4-6 weeks but everyone is unique. I notice a change in 3 weeks of eliminating gluten, but some people don't feel any better until they've eliminated gluten for 12-14 weeks. Gluten can stay in our system for 3 months, which is unusually long and not typical for most foods.
If the process seems daunting and you want further guidance, send me a note.
Ending Notes
This isn’t to say everyone has food sensitivities. Many of the symptoms listed above can be a manifestation of poor diet, like eating eating processed foods, having imbalanced blood sugar, and nutrient deficiencies. Lifestyle factors can also contribute, such as excessive stress or exposure to toxins in food, water, body products, cleaning supplies… It can also be a result of an underly health issue.
None the less, food sensitivities are incredibly common which is why I’m sharing this story. The wheat and dairy we eat today is not the same as the ones our ancestors ate. We cultivate them in a way that make us more prone to be sensitive to them.
Even though it’s inconvenient and annoying to be sensitive to gluten, I’m thankful to have made the connection so I can avoid unnecessary anxiety flare ups.
Feel better in your body by learning how to actually eat healthy in my course BEGIN.
This is the course I wish existed when I was learning to eat healthy. It’s perfect, and I can’t wait to see you there.