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Health & Fitness

Food Sensativities May Be Causing You To Be Fat

Food sensitivities are one of the most overlooked underlying triggers to obesity.  The top 3 food sensitivities I see in adults are Gluten (in grains), Dairy and Soy. 

 

What is the difference beteen a Food Allergy vs. a Food Sensitivity?

Most of us have a traditional picture in our mind of what food allergies are.  As a young mother one of my worst visions was one of my children having a severe allergic reaction to a food.  I would see this horrific picture of my child swelling up and gasping for air.  Thank God I never had to experience this first hand.

A food allergy is typically a more severe reaction to the protein in an offending food, whereas a food sensitivity is a reaction to a non-protein substance that can be manifested in many ways.  In reality, many adults have hidden food sensitivities that are making them fat.  In this scenario, obesity and diabetes are just  the tip of the iceberg.

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GMOs

So why are our foods becoming more toxic to our bodies?  The introduction of GMOs or gentically modified foods has been a major contributor to the increased incidence of food sensitivities in our society.  GMOs  are now contained in an estimated 60 – 70% of all of our processed foods. “Genetic modification of foods may transfer new and unidentified proteins from one food to another, leading to food allergies or sensitivities” (Rivera & Deutsch, 2002).  This makes it ever more challenging to uncover the hidden food offenders.

Food Sensitivities & Leaky Gut Syndrome

We know that one in thirty Americans are gluten sensitive.  Read my prior post on the danger of Super Glutens. Food sensitivities interfere with our bodies ability to effectively breakdown food in the upper gastrointestinal tract.  Normally food is fully digested prior to reaching the small bowel which is where our nutrients are absorbed.  The undigested food assaults the lining of the small bowel, creating an inflammatory response.  The damaged gut lining allows things that would normal not cross into the blood stream to leak throughout which triggers a systemic immune response leading to inflammation.  This immune response has been linked to a variety of chronic diseases and an be an underlying trigger for various autoimmune disorders.

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Less well known is the impact that leaky gut has on obesity and type 2 diabetes.  The malabsorption that occurs with gut inflammation can actually slow down metabolism and make you gain weight.  The systemic inflammatory response can worsen insulin resistance and drive up blood sugar, both leading to weight gain amongst other things.

Grains, Diabetes and Obesity

Post prandial (post meal) blood sugar rise triggers inflammation through multiple pathways.  And of course, we know that inflammation is the underlying thread that connects most chronic disease.  Grains,in particular wheat, are thought to be a major contributor to this phenomenon.   Inflammation worsens insulin resistance which, we know from our prior post, can reprogram our bodies to store belly fat.  I believe that this vicious cycle is one of the primary drivers of obesity, impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes.

“Because of wheat’s incredible capacity to send blood sugar levels straight up, initiate the glucose-insulin roller coaster ride that drives appetite, generate addictive brain-active exorphins, and grown visceral fat, it is the one essential food to eliminate in a serious effort to prevent, reduce, or eliminate diabetes”. William Davis, MD.

How do you know if you have a Food Sensitivity?

Traditional food allergy testing typically do not pick up food sensitivities.  There are specialized laboratory tests that are more reliable for unmasking food sensitivities, such as IgG testing, but may include a higher out of pocket cost on your part.  One of the ways to rule out food sensitivities is to do an Elimination Diet.  The top 2 food sensitivities in adults are gluten and dairy.  I would start with a 3 – 6 week elimination diet of both then reintroduce one at a time.  If you see no difference with gluten or dairy you may need a more extensive elimination diet.  For more information on the elimination diet read the recommendations in my post on Super Glutens.

Do not underestimate the impact that food sensitivities may have on your ability to decrease your insulin resistance and lose weight.  Many of my clients that have food sensitivities see significant improvement in their weight and even their chronic symptoms when they eliminate the offending foods.  Many of them did not even realize they had issues until the did the full elimination diet!

Contact our office at 410.861.5256 for your discount on our Optimize program!

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