Celiac Disease | Lactose Intolerance
Foods can cause inflammation throughout your body in numerous ways. If you have Celiac Disease or another autoimmune disease – you’ve probably faced numerous food intolerances. I’m sure you’ve all heard of people that are lactose intolerant, correct? That means they don’t have enough enzymes to digest the lactose in foods such as milk and cheese.
First, you can develop a food allergy, which is when your immune cells make antibodies against the food. There are four different types of antibodies but here we will focus on two. When you go to an allergist, they will test you for IgE antibodies – these are what cause hives, swelling on your tongue or difficulty breathing. The other kind of food allergy that your doctor may NOT test you for involves IgG antibodies – these cause immune complex disease, which is when the food gets into your bloodstream through LEAKY GUT SYNDROME and your immune system makes antibodies that attach to the food making it an antigen-antibody complex. Since this is a large particle, it can get into your tissues and cause inflammation and damage locally inside your body – this then is what causes a HUGE immune attack to this tissue. Your joints are quite susceptible to these large particles of immune complexes and this may be one of the causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Evidence from my M.D.s show that everyone with autoimmune diseases has Leaky Gut syndrome – so you are likely having immune reactions to the foods you eat even if they are healthy foods. For instance, after I was tested by the ALCAT Food Intolerance Test – my body showed inflammation from lemon, cilantro, black pepper, avocado, asparagus and a TON of other healthy foods. You can read more about the Elimination Diet and how to remove problem-causing foods on my Elimination Diet page.
Having any kind of symptom (even anxiety and fatigue) from a food you eat is called a food sensitivity and this is the way that food can cause inflammation. Food sensitivities are NOT true allergies but they cannot be taken lightly. Do you feel puffy and stiff after eating certain foods? Do your joints hurt after other foods? Do you have trouble concentrating? Muscle pan? Digestive symptoms such as reflux, bloating and gas after eating? Do you have constipation or diarrhea after eating? If so, you may have food sensitivities or intolerances.
The easiest way to figure out if you have a food sensitivity is to remove that food for three weeks, then slowly reintroduce it – while paying CLOSE attention to how your body reacts to it. I explain this process in much greater depth on my Elimination Diet page.
It is essential to work with a nutritionist and an Integrative M.D. because I am sharing general information that is not intended to be medical advice. This information is only given for informational purposes.
