Food Sensitivity Symptoms: What are They?

The Basics of Food Sensitivity Symptoms

Food allergies and intolerance’s are often overlooked by people who think that they’re “sensitive” to certain foods. But these reactions can cause serious problems for those who suffer from them.

Food sensitivities are caused when your body reacts negatively to certain foods. These reactions may cause inflammation, digestive issues, skin problems, headaches, fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, depression, anxiety, and many other health conditions. Are you curious to know if you have Food Sensitivity Symptoms? The Functional Medicine team at Ravenswood Chiropractic in Chicago has put together this basic chart of symptoms which you will find below.

Allergies are Classified into Four Types

When discussing food allergies and food sensitivities with healthcare practitioners, you may hear them classify them by type. Allergies are classified into four different types depending on the triggered pathway.   

• Type I allergies are Immediate Allergies. These are the ones people generally know they have as the reaction happens within 30 minutes to 4 hours after contact.
• Types II, III, and IV are Delayed Allergies. These food sensitivity allergies are difficult to pin down without a test, as symptom onset can be days after exposure and often last for days to weeks.

TYPE I – Triggers the production of histamine, which can produce a wide array of symptoms ranging from mild to severe, as well as an assortment of secondary symptoms.

Symptoms commonly include:

• MILD —
  • sneezing
  • coughing
  • runny nose
  • congestion
  • itchy and watery eyes
  • sore throat
• MODERATE —
  • hives
  • cramps
  • nausea and vomiting
  • shortness of breath
• SEVERE —
  • anaphylactic shock
  • swelling of the tongue, lips, and throat
  • suffocation
  • death
• OTHER ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS —
  • fatigue
  • muscle and joint pain
  • headaches
  • depression and other mood disorders
  • dizziness
  • gastrointestinal upset.

Causes commonly include:

• inhalation of an allergen
• ingestion of an allergen
• physical contact with an allergen

Conditions that may involve Type I allergic reactions include:

• rhinitis (hay fever)
• allergic conjunctivitis
• asthma
• eczema

TYPE II – Reactive Antibody – Triggers an immune response similar to a bacteria, virus, or other pathogens.

Symptoms commonly include:

• Cell and tissue damage

Causes commonly include:

• Hypersensitivity to drugs like Penicillin

Conditions that may involve Type II delayed allergies include:

• Coombs’-positive hemolytic anemias
• hyperacute graft rejection of an organ transplant
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Goodpasture’s syndrome (or anti-glomerular basement membrane disease)

TYPE III – Immune Complex: Similar to a Type II reaction, except it may be triggered by an external antigen (i.e., a foreign substance) or if the body starts to attack its cells.

Symptoms commonly include:

• inflammation
• hives
• rash
• painful joints

Causes commonly include:

• Hypersensitivity to antibiotics

Conditions that may involve Type III delayed allergies include:

• cryoglobulinemia
• serum sickness
• rheumatoid arthritis
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• leukocytoclastic vasculitis
• bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
• hypersensitivity pneumonitis
• many types of glomerulonephritis

TYPE IV – T-Cell Mediated: A hypersensitivity that only occurs when the antigen comes in direct contact with the skin. Hence it is often known as a “Contact Allergy.”

Symptoms commonly include:

• inflammation
• hives
• rash

Causes commonly include:

• poison ivy
• latex
• chemicals
• physical contact with food (not ingestion)

Conditions that may involve Type IV delayed allergies include:

• tuberculosis
• hypersensitivity pneumonitis
• allograft rejection

If you are curious about food sensitivity symptoms, you may want to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with our Functional Medicine team to discover if food sensitivity testing is right for you.

Feeling Well and Being Healthy is within Reach! 

Speak to one of our expert team members today at 773.878.7330 or schedule a functional medicine evaluation online.