You may be aware of the growing trend of food sensitivities and perhaps are even somewhat concerned that it is just a fad. We at Well Within are conscientious of the misunderstandings that can happen when it comes to caring for the body. However, as we have done further research and gained more and more clinical experience, we have found that the growing trend is legitimate and that many chronically ill people are sick because of specific food sensitivities.

One of the largest misconceptions with these kinds of sensitivities is that the offending foods have to hurt your stomach or cause intestinal disturbance. This is simply not true. We find many people with these intolerances experience neurological symptoms, fatigue, weight gain, anemia, brain fog, rashes, insomnia, depression, anxiety, headaches, migraines, and so on. A food allergy or sensitivity could cause just about any symptom.

These sensitivities can come about for many reasons, but two of them stand out to us. The first is that the body may be unable to correctly process the foods for absorption or detoxification. The second is the immune system may be confused as to the nature of the food.

When the body cannot break down all of the chemical properties of your food for elimination, the byproducts can build up as a toxicity in the system. Frequently, but not exclusively this affects the liver and can sometimes manifest through the skin (rashes, acne, etc.), or represent as general malaise, headaches, arthritis and so on.

When the immune system is involved, it is a matter of this system’s attempt to protect you. Your immune system is constantly at work determining what is you and what is not you. If this system gets confused, for any reason, it can start attacking things that are supposed to be neutral – such as foods.

In some cases, a “confused” immune system, if left unaddressed, can lead to more serious imbalances. It’s possible such confusion could even lead to the body attacking itself. As you can imagine, this can have devastating effects on your quality of life.

The role that food sensitivities can play in perpetuating this and other kinds of illness only further strengthens our resolve to educate our patients.