DR JAMES BRALY, AUTHOR OF Food Allergy Relief and a specialist in the field, makes a clear distinction between immediate onset versus delayed onset of food allergies.
Immediate allergies have acute, obvious symptoms, whereas delayed onset food allergies are difficult to diagnose – even by a doctor, because the symptoms can manifest from 24 hours up to weeks later and in different organs. People can have delayed food allergies from a wide variety of foods and some of the symptoms include headaches, depression, anxiety, asthma, hyperactivity, eczema, inflammatory bowel diseases and sleeping disorders. Braly’s observations are that in susceptible individuals, cow’s milk is probably the main culprit. But soy and even goat’s milk are not ideal substitutes. Adult migraine sufferers, for example, may be allergic to foods like eggs, wheat, oranges and cheese.
Immediate onset food allergies are normally easy to diagnose, due to the acute nature of their symptoms, but not so with delayed onset food allergies or Type 3 as Braly calls them. He also notes that frequently the items causing delayed food allergies are the very ones you eat every day and even crave. These can only be identified by a blood test, called the IgG ELISA laboratory test, and not the more common IgE ELISA skin test for food allergies, says Braly.
Researchers have discovered the primary indication of Type 3 food allergy is the so-called “leaky gut” – a damaged intestinal lining, which doesn’t prevent large molecules of undigested food from entering the bloodstream, as it should. IgG antibodies are then formed against these allergens, causing havoc in the body.
The good news is that on identifying the problem foods and strictly avoiding them for three to six months, you can gradually bring most of them back into your diet and remain symptom-free. However, this doesn’t apply to individuals with a gluten intolerance or coeliac disease. – Johanita Louw |fw
