Food Intolerance Panel™: Patient Overview

Some Misconceptions

Food intolerances and food allergies are the same condition. Food allergies are immunological in origin and cause different forms of hypersensitivity reactions. Food allergies are distinct from food intolerances—which are genetically dictated entities.

Food intolerances are diseases of childhood. Intolerances are more likely to be symptomatic in children but are found in adults of all ages, because they are genetic in origin. Food intolerances are perpetrators of ongoing intestinal inflammation, which may eventually exhaust the body’s defenses.

Food intolerances are only present in symptomatic patients. Food intolerances can be subjectively silent in many individuals. Nonetheless, they continue to drain our defenses and weaken our intestinal immune system. Food intolerance occurrence is underestimated in our symptom-driven heath care system.

Food intolerances are simply intestinal irritations. Food intolerances can be more than a local intestinal problem, and may increase the risk of autoimmune diseases and cancer as well as accelerate aging.

Gut Manifestations of Food Intolerance

• Diarrhea or soft to loose stools are the most common GI symptom
• Intestinal hypermotility—accelerated intestinal passage of food which results in vomiting, spasms of the gut and diarrhea
• Constipation
• Gastroesophageal reflux
• Malabsorption — the inability to benefit from the food we eat
• Changes in intestinal wall integrity—allows foreign bodies and microbes access beyond the gut which normally does not occur
  
  

Malnutrition and Nutritional Deficiencies

• Mouth ulcers
• Nausea/vomiting
• Gas
• IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
  
  Remember—You may have no symptoms and still have a food intolerance.
  
  

Food Intolerance Symptoms Beyond the Gut

Skin: Hives, dermatitis, rash, eczema
Respiratory: Runny nose, asthma, nasal congestion, sinusitis
Heiner syndrome: A chronic pulmonary disease caused by hypersensitivity to cow’s milk
Brain: Headache, migraine, sleeplessness, irritability
Anti-cancer defense:Folic acid deficiency
Changes in blood coagulation: Vitamin K deficiency
Anemia: Weakened red blood cells and/or reduced counts, which may result in fatigue

Manifestations of Grain Intolerance

• The Stress Connection The stress of gluten intolerance triggers cortisol elevation, which can reduce immunity, especially secretory antibody production.
• Autoimmunity Liver and bile problems, type I diabetes, and arthritis.
• Cancer Lymphoma (T-Iymphocyte cancer).
• The Thyroid Connection Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, resulting in hypothyroidism.
• The Osteoporosis Connection Low bone-mineral density: osteopenia and sometimes osteoporosis.
• Neurologic Disorders Postural imbalance and nerve tingling.
  Except for osteoporosis, following a gluten-free diet for several years reduces the risk for all associated disorders.
  
  

What We Test for and Why We Test it

Gluten intolerance
Gluten intolerance is a more common disorder than previously reported in the scientific literature. Genetic predisposition is common in individuals of northern European descent (Celtic and Nordic) and in non-Caucasian and Mediterranean ethnicities. Historically, the diagnosis relied on invasive intestinal biopsy. A normal biopsy, however, does not exclude the disease. With the advent of biochemical markers (saliva SIgA) for gluten intolerance, several studies have proven the presence of various forms of gluten intolerance in 12%-18% of the US and EU populations.

Cow’s milk intolerance vs. lactose intolerance
Cow’s milk intolerance is a specific genetically dictated intolerance to the major milk protein known as casein. It is defined as cow’s milk-(and cow’s milk-based dairy) induced intestinal damage that is reversed by a cow’s milk-free diet and returns with exposure. Milk intolerance is caused by casein and other milk antigens/proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. Casein triggers a toxic reaction in the intestine that stimulates a gut-specific antibody called secretory IgA, which we test for in saliva. In severe cases, the problem is apparent at an early age (<3 years of age).

Casein is the substance in milk that triggers a toxic reaction in the intestine of those who are intolerant of cow’s milk.

Egg intolerance
Egg intolerance is defined as egg white-induced intestinal damage that is reversed by an egg-free diet and returns on challenge with eggs. It is an abnormal inflammatory response to ovalbumin in genetically predisposed individuals. Ovalbumin in chicken (and most other bird eggs) can trigger a toxic reaction in the intestine that produces secretory IgA antibodies, which we test for in saliva.

Soy Intolerance
It is defined as soy protein-induced intestinal damage that is reversed by a soy-free diet and returns on challenge with soy. It is an abnormal response to soy proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. This is a problem that is on the rise in the US. Soy protein is a relatively new food/food additive in the US, and the long-term health effects for the US population are not yet clear. However, if your saliva test is positive, you may want to read food labels more carefully.

In severe cases, the problem is apparent at an early age (<3 years of age). In milder cases, patients may be completely asymptomatic and may not become aware of the problem until adulthood through objective testing using salivary secretory IgA.

In conclusion…

Food intolerances are more common than publicly realized. They may be treated based on recognition from a single sample, saliva test.