Common Signs of Hidden Food Sensitivities and How to Overcome Them

Did you know that many health symptoms and problems we have are directly related to food sensitivities?? Most people are often amazed and do not believe me when I tell them this. 

You and your kids may, or may not, have obvious signs of digestive distress, or immediate immune responses that seem obvious to you after eating. However, let’s take a look at some common signs of food sensitivity.

Signs and Symptoms of Sensitivities

Canker sores (your mouth is the first point of contact with your food and the inside of your body, and the start of your digestive tract).

Celiac disease

Chronic diarrhea

Gastritis

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Malabsorption (failure to thrive in kids!) In adults this can be major vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and illnesses.

Ulcerative Colitis

Bed wetting

Chronic bladder infections

Nephrosis (kidney problems – including infections and stones)

Joint issues – like bursitis, joint pain, low back pain

Chronic infections, frequent ear infections

Itchy nose/throat

Migraines

Sinusitis

Asthma

Chronic bronchitis

Wheezing

Skin – acne, eczema, hives, itching, skin rash

Even things like arrhythmia, edema, fainting, fatigue, headache, hypoglycemia. 

There are even mental and emotional signs of these types of sensitivities which include: anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, insomnia, irritability, mental confusion, personality change, seizure.

How many of these things do you or your children have? Are you surprised? I know I was. Many families that I work with, including MY OWN in the past, are baffled as to what might be the issue and how could it possibly be that. They often feel “fine” or think their kids are “fine” when it comes to eating itself. However, then you realize you have a whole list of the issues above. There is a cause for every reaction in our body – including those on that list.

What can we do to change this?

I work with families one-to-one to identify the culprits, but here is where to start on your own.

Food Journal

Start to look at each meal, the contents, and reactions and feelings associate with that meal, and even looking at bowel movements. What comes out is often a good indicator of digestive function and can help ID problems.

Journaling helps in the following ways:

* After eating a meal if you have to rush to the bathroom you will see this pattern. This is a CLEAR sign of food sensitivity in that meal.

* The type of bowel movement combined with timing of meals will help you see if your bowels are functioning the way they should. If not, trouble shooting can go from there.

* You start to identify types of foods that DO agree with you and make you feel good all day. You will quickly start to see patterns of foods that are making you feel awful during the day as well.

* You will find eating patterns that might not work for you, and you can see that on paper and make adjustments.

If you still cannot see what is going on (it happens a lot), and you still want to DIY the issues, then the next step is to start with some common allergens and do elimination. (Or you can always ask for some assistance in the matter from a professional).

Eliminate Common Allergens/Sensitivities 

Wheat and/or Grain

This is a heavily modified grain that is very difficult for many people to process. Some people have severe symptoms following consumption but others it is more subtle like canker sores (that is me!). This doesn’t mean just choosing gluten free products, (although you would need to avoid gluten of course whether it’s wheat or grain), it means working toward not eating Whole Foods in this category as well. You would shift more to a nut-based diet, as well as healthy fats, and vegetables and great proteins.

Dairy

This is a very well-known allergen as well. Some components (lactose is just one) of dairy do not work for some people. Again – lactose seems very obvious in the need to run to the bathroom, or have very bad gas. However, these signs can be more subtle again with repeated ear infections in children, and other infections, low iron levels and more.

Refined/Processed Foods

This is a HUGE HUGE category.  It encompasses most of the grocery store. Sometimes we cannot identify just GLUTEN or JUST WHEAT or JUST dairy. We have been eating a lot of packaged products which are filled with a variety of those things, combined with additives and chemicals (which also cause issues). So you will likely have a TON of success just getting off these foods and eating whole food instead. Learn more about what processed foods are, and what their dangers are.

Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners

There are big links to sugar and headaches, migraines and more. Of course we know the implications in diabetes, but there are many others that are listed above. That also include your gut! Sugar feeds bad bacteria, yeasts and more. Without balance in our digestive tract we will suffer in our immune system and body function showing many signs listed above. 

Truly it is easy to avoid sugar if you try to. You can still enjoy eating some things with natural sweeteners (like maple or honey) from time to time, but it becomes a treat versus what we eat all day!

Poor Quality Oils

This is really hard for a lot of people to get because they just haven’t been given accurate information about oils. Learn more about cooking oils here. Avoiding highly processed oils cuts down in oxidation in your body, and allows your body to heal and properly inflame and deflame. Which prevents many of the infections and conditions above. If you know you are highly susceptible to inflammation, fevers and more, this is one thing to change. You want to have butter, ghee (especially if you are thinking dairy also), extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil. We are avoiding vegetable oils, corn oils and other random weird named oils on the shelf. If it is pennies to buy – it’s very processed. 

Food additives/dyes

These are hidden in so many things today. The best way to avoid these is by eating things without a label in the real food category. If you suffer from a lot of mental health symptoms, or your children have things like ADD/ADHD, autism and more – you need to really look at every single product and item in your child’s life for these things. You want to avoid them at all costs. They contribute to the symptoms of these mental health and developmental disorders. Please also be aware the oxidation plays a big role here so choosing the right oils and preparing foods safely is HIGHLY important for this particular set of disorders.

The bottom line here is that by identifying the agents, and removing them from the diet you will feel better and eliminate those annoying symptoms above! Many times these are inherited, and you may have them WITH your children. There are also things like repetitious eating, improper digestion and poor intestinal microbes that lead to these or have been caused by the sensitivity. 

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