Symptoms of Food Allergies & Intolerances

Symptoms of IgG mediated food allergy (commonly known as a “food intolerance”) can be general or specific, and may not appear until up to 3 days after consumption of a food. This makes identifying the trigger food/s extremely difficult to do, without testing. In general, you may feel fatigued and easily exhausted despite eating all the right “healthy” foods, or you may suffer from gastrointestinal complaints, joint pain, headache or even Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) which can lead to depressive symptoms.

The role of inflammation in a number of mental and physical conditions is at the forefront of the latest clinical research. Foods which contribute to inflammation should always be a consideration on your journey to better health. Below are just a few of the most common symptoms and health conditions associated with IgG Food Allergy:

If you are unsure whether your symptoms could be related to IgG food allergy, our free online self assessment is a great guide.

Click on each for description:

Excess Weight and IgG Food Allergies

Inflammatory processes that promote obesity may be intensified by an IgG food allergy

Obesity is a chronic disease which is characterized by severe excess weight and a pathologically increased body fat percentage. It is very stressful for the body and often a psychological burden for the people affected. Excess weight and obesity may be due to metabolic disorders.The exact mechanisms of the disease are not completely understood yet. However, it is clear that low-grade inflammatory processes play a role in obesity. An IgG food allergy may intensify such inflammatory processes. ImuPro helps you to detect such delayed food allergies and supports you with individual guidelines based on your test results.

Skin problems

Neurodermatitis (atopic dermatitis), itching of the skin, psoriasis and acne are inflammatory skin diseases of different expression.

Those affected often suffer very badly from symptoms such as itching, weeping, redness, dry or scaly skin. Not much has been known on the exact causes of these inflammatory skin diseases so classic treatment methods aim at an alleviation of symptoms, rather than getting to the cause of the disease. In this context, ointments and compresses as well as drugs (cortisone or antibiotics) are used for treating the inflammation.

Nutrition plays an important role here, since foodstuffs can be triggers of inflammation. Studies have shown that children with neurodermatitis show more often IgG reactions to foodstuffs than persons not suffering neurodermatitis (Eysink et al., 1999).

The inflammatory process can be stopped through a change in diet. This may fundamentally improve the associated symptoms of the skin diseases.

Crohn’s disease

Type III food allergy may promote inflammation – like in Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease which most commonly affects the end of the small bowel and the beginning of the colon, but may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Like ulcerative colitis, CD can be both painful and debilitating.A delayed IgG food allergy may play a role in CD. The ImuPro concept may thus be a useful addition to usual therapies.

People suffering from CD often experience loss of appetite and may lose weight as a result. A feeling of low energy and fatigue is also common. CD is a chronic disease, so this means patients will likely experience periods when the disease flares up and causes symptoms, followed by periods of remission when patients may not notice symptoms at all.

Common Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease

Stomach aches
Severe bouts of watery or bloody diarrhoea
Abdominal pain

Headaches and IgG Food Allergies

IgG food allergy – a possible trigger of inflammatory processes that cause migraine

Many people suffer from headaches, more or less frequently. There are more than 200 types of headaches; the most common ones are tension headache and migraine.Migraine is a complex neurological picture. People affected usually suffer from long-lasting and intense headaches. Migraine headaches cause throbbing or pulsating pain, usually on only one side of the head. They can interfere with sleep, work and other everyday activities and may occur as often as several times per week or as rarely as once or twice a year. A migraine most often begins at puberty and mostly affects those aged between 35 and 45 years.

Common Symptoms of Migraine

Throbbing, pulsating or pressing pain
Nausea/Vomiting
Aura
Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
Lethargy

The causes of primary headaches are still unclear. A large number of people affected by migraine suspect that foods could trigger the attacks. A delayed IgG food allergy might be such a trigger. The ImuPro concept may thus be a useful approach: It combines an IgG food allergy test and personalised nutritional guidelines.

Gastrointestinal Complaints

When intestinal diseases become chronic

Diarrhoea, flatulence, abdominal pain, constipation, bloating: many people suffer from debilitating GI complaints for years without traditional treatment methods being able to help them. In many cases, inflammatory intestinal diseases become chronic and can be a heavy strain on people, limiting their quality of life.

The cause of many of these complaints has not yet been identified. Therefore, available therapy is often based on the use of drugs that influence the intestinal function and thus control the symptoms. This therapy, however, is not satisfactory for many patients because while the drugs may relieve the complaints, they usually cannot eliminate them completely or get to the root cause of what is actually causing the symptoms. We know today that gastrointestinal diseases such as IBS can be caused by inflammatory reactions.

According to recent findings, food can cause inflammation in the body as well; scientific studies corroborate the importance of food in gastrointestinal diseases. If foodstuffs are responsible for the complaints, these complaints may improve or even disappear completely after a specific change in diet.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Some symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome may be the result of an IgG food allergy

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) causes a great deal of discomfort and stress, for some people it can even be disabling. They may be unable to work, attend social events or even travel short distances.The intensity of complaints varies from person to person. It can increase as years go by. Some patients occasionally suffer from mild IBS symptoms; others have to constantly endure severe complaints. IBS can occur without warning, but also after an intestinal infection, for instance. Quality of life is often considerably reduced.

Therapy mostly consists of medication like stool softeners and laxatives that keep the symptoms under control. Since the set of symptoms is often linked to the consumption of certain foods, people affected with IBS often develop complicated diet plans that restrict them severely.An IgG food allergy test followed by an elimination and provocation diet may be an interesting approach. ImuPro allows you to change your diet very selectively based on your test results.