What are Food Sensitivities?

Food sensitivities are not the same as food allergies. 

An allergy is an immediate hypersensitivity (immune) reaction (IgE immune marker) often occurring within 4 hours of consumption or exposure and potentially causing life-threatening effects – also known as an anaphylactic reaction, characterized by difficulties breathing, swelling of airways, hives and more. For example, you may be aware of how serious peanut allergies can be.  If you suspect you may have a serious allergy, it is best to speak with your medical doctor for a referral to an Allergist – a doctor that specializes in testing for a variety of allergies – food & environmental. 

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A food sensitivity is a reaction to a food (IgG immune marker) that often occurs 4-72 hours after consumption (also known as a delayed hypersensitivity reaction) and is not life-threatening. Not all symptoms are caused by food sensitivities and so, a thorough health assessment should be conducted to rule out any more serious reasons for your symptoms. After more serious conditions have been ruled out, detecting food sensitivities may be beneficial for the following symptoms: indigestion, joint pain, acne, skin rashes (e.g. eczema), headaches, and more. 

A food sensitivity test involves a finger prick test to collect a small amount of blood which is sent off to the laboratory to determine which foods may be triggering certain symptoms. Once the foods that are elevated are detected, there are 2 phases to determine which foods of those may be causing some issues. 

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Phase 1 – Elimination Phase – Removing the foods from the diet for a certain number of days or weeks.

Phase 2 – Reintroduction Phase – A particular order of re-introduction of eliminated foods to determine which foods that were eliminated are causing symptoms. 

PLEASE NOTE – The gold standard for any elimination diet is to re-introduce the foods. Foods are not to be removed long term and indefinitely. 

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Alternative to the food sensitivity test, and often quite popular, is to just conduct an elimination diet with bot phases discussed above – removing some of the most inflammatory foods in our diets in general. Then, a reintroduction phase is completed. The elimination diet has also been published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and there is research to support its use in health management

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Food sensitivities can change throughout our life and often eating too much of a food may cause issues in general…(but you knew that already!)

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Is a food sensitivity test necessary?

No – it is just an option. Some people like to see on paper what foods may be bothering them, especially, if it is hard to pinpoint these foods day-to-day. 

 

Meeting with Dr. Mawji can help you learn about what types of testing may be the most beneficial and indicated for you. 

 

If you are looking for a short read with information on food sensitivities, intolerances & allergies – see this article published by Harvard Medical School https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/food-allergy-intolerance-or-sensitivity-whats-the-difference-and-why-does-it-matter-2020013018736