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Home Articles REAL Health Allergies Food Allergies & Sensitivities About Food Allergies and Sensitivities
About Food Allergies and Sensitivities Print E-mail
Written by Susan McCreadie, MD   
It is estimated around 20% of the population has adverse reactions to foods.  The symptoms can range from mild discomfort to life threatening, and can be associated with a variety of diseases including asthma, eczema, ear infections, mood and behavior problems, colitis, migraines, and more. The cause of these abnormal food reactions vary  from true "IgE-mediated" allergies to "IgG-mediated" food sensitivities, and can also be from a lack of specific enzymes needed to digest a particular food.

 
IgG-mediated Food Sensitivities
Food sensitivity refers to the immune system's overreaction to an offending food involving the elevation of a specific antibody IgG.  The reaction to the offending food is often delayed starting 4 to 72 hours after exposure. Circulating IgG antibodies may take months to clear from the body after the offending food has been eliminated. So often, clinical improvement is not seen until weeks after the sensitive food has been removed from the diet. Often these food sensitivities are temporary, and resolve with improvement in digestive health.
 
IgE-mediated Food Allergies
Food allergy refers to the immune system's overreaction to an offending food involving the elevation of a specific antibody IgE.  The reaction to the offending food is immediate within minutes of exposure. Circulating IgE antibodies are usually cleared from the body within days. Though many food allergies are "outgrown", some remain for a person's lifetime.
 
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose is milk sugar and occurs naturally in the milk of animals. Many people are sensitive to milk products because they lack the enzyme called lactase.This enzyme, found in the gastrointestinal tract, is critical in the digestion of lactose. If the lactase enzyme is missing or depleted, the gastrointestinal tract can not adequately break down the milk sugar, leading to a wide variety of symptoms. When this occurs these individuals are described as being "lactose intolerant".
 
Susan McCreadie, MD is a Holistic Pediatrician and co-founder of nourishMD. She shows parents how to find REAL health for their child, so they can stop treating their child's symptoms and instead find solutions that help their child heal from the inside out.