Food intolerance or hypersensitivity: what are we talking about?

Do you regularly suffer from digestive discomforts such as bloating, flatulence, alternating diarrhea/constipation, nausea? Or chronic sinusitis or rhinitis? You have no known allergies or intolerances?

It may be food hypersensitivity. In fact, over 20% of the adult population (27.5% of women) suffer from food hypersensitivity. This phenomenon tends to increase with age, and is one of the most common causes of chronic disorders.

How does intolerance/hypersensitivity affect our bodies?

Food intolerances/hypersensitivities are inappropriate reactions of the immune system to macro-molecules (food fragments) that pass through the intestinal barrier. When the intestinal barrier is no longer intact (intestinal hyperpermeability), it lets through chains of amino acids (proteins) that the body recognizes as foreign, triggering an immune reaction with the formation of immune complexes (IgG antibodies). An inflammatory reaction takes place, and if the body is regularly exposed to these food fragments, the inflammatory reaction will become self-perpetuating, increasing the immune response to these foods. In other words, the frequency with which "non-tolerated" foods are administered will aggravate the phenomenon of food hypersensitivity and increase IgG antibodies.

What are the results of intolerance/hypersensitivity?

A vicious circle sets in, with the inflammatory process becoming chronic (low-grade) and causing repeated discomfort, various disorders and, in some cases, the development of chronic diseases (e.g. autoimmune diseases).

What's the difference between intolerance/hypersensitivity and allergy?

Food intolerances are linked to delayed hypersensitivity, i.e. the reaction is delayed in relation to ingestion of the food (this can range from 6 hours to several days), unlike food allergy, which is an immediate hypersensitivity that is highly symptomatic and can be very dangerous.

What are the causes and symptoms of food intolerances or hypersensitivities?

The factors most likely to generate food intolerances are :

• intestinal permeability
• genetic predisposition
• cellular and psychological stress
• environmental factors such as medication, high-level sport, smoking and alcohol

Generally speaking, all factors that cause stress to the body promote degradation of the intestinal mucosa, allowing molecules that are too large or toxic for the body to pass through. This leads to overtaxation of the immune system and, in the long term, to more or less serious disorders.

Observable symptoms of food intolerance or hypersensitivity can take a long time to appear, to the detriment of health.

There are several types of symptoms, both digestive and extra-digestive.

Clinically, intolerances can manifest themselves in various ways such as :

• digestive disorders (vomiting, bloating, cramps, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, colic, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, celiac disease)
• respiratory disorders (rhinitis, sinusitis, asthma, otitis)
• skin disorders (urticaria, eczema, atopic dermatitis, acne, psoriasis)
• Nervous disorders (migraine, headaches, difficulty concentrating, drowsiness, depression, hyperactivity)
• joint problems (arthritis, joint pain, weakness, fibromyalgia, cramps)

or amplify the symptoms of various pathologies such as :

• endocrine disorders (diabetes I and II, thyroid)
• cardiovascular disorders (hypertension, atherosclerosis)
• known inflammatory (polyarthritis...) and autoimmune diseases
• IBD such as Crohn's disease or UCR

What are the possible solutions and treatments for food intolerances or hypersensitivities?

Thanks to specific research into food hypersensitivities, the veil can finally be lifted on the foods that cause these disorders.

From mild symptoms to daily discomfort, precise IgG testing enables you to target and act to reduce digestive inflammation and restore optimal health. In fact, it is now possible to test a large number of foods (from 5 to 100) from various categories such as: fruit & vegetables, meat and fish, cereals, dairy products etc...

How do I take the test?

Make an appointment with a nutritionist at La Clinique Naturelle, who will choose with the patient a panel of foods to be tested, and then go to the specialized laboratory for a blood test (blood test not reimbursed).

Depending on the results, the nutritionist will set up a therapeutic strategy starting with a phase of avoiding igG-positive foods, in order to deprogram the immune system's reactions. This is followed by a phase of reintroducing foods and a stabilization phase.

In parallel with this treatment, correction of intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome) is essential, to reduce the inflammatory state and oxidative stress so that symptoms improve or even disappear.

What could be the reasons behind the explosion in food intolerances?

• Excessive hygiene, vaccines, antibiotics and the composition of our food (ultra-processed foods) have weakened our microbiota and deregulated our immune system.
• Lifestyle and cultural changes too rapid for genetic adaptation: "we have everything all year round".
• Take strawberries, for example: if your immune system reacts to this food, it will never have a chance to calm down, because you can eat it all the time. This will lead to chronic inflammation and symptoms. Our body can't rest. What's more, since everything is available all the time, we tend to have a monotonous diet and eat only what we like. Hence the importance of eating seasonal foods!
• Food composition very different from the ancestral diet of the 1950s.
• Wheat, for example, has been genetically modified for decades, and now has 44 pairs of chromosomes, compared with the original 20. Man's biology is not adapted to his way of life, and human beings are not evolving fast enough to adapt to these changes...