Most of us, at one time or another, have been sick due to something that we’ve eaten. As a food safety trainer for many years, I know that statistically speaking, the CDC estimates that 48 million Americans will get sick this year from something that they ate. We call this food-borne illness. This is NOT what this blog post is about.

This blog post is about food sensitivities. Food sensitivities—not to be confused with food allergies or food intolerances have been linked with a variety of symptoms and conditions. Is it possible that your migraine headache is being caused by something that you ate? Or, perhaps, your current outbreak of dermatitis? Chronically tired? Unexplained pain? Joint swelling? Even that feeling of food getting stuck in your esophagus can be related to food sensitivities.

So, what exactly is a food sensitivity you may ask? A food sensitivity is a highly complex immune response to either a food or a chemical in the food. However, because the immune response does not trigger the release of a type of antibodies known as IgE, the onset of symptoms is usually not as immediate as food allergies (where IgE antibodies are released and there is an almost-immediate response) and therefore, they are much more difficult to pinpoint.

Whereas, a food allergy response is immediate and may even be life-threatening, a food sensitivity is often more vague with symptoms not appearing for 2-3 hours later and sometimes even days later. Hence, this is why most people don’t associate their symptoms with something that they ate!

Statistics vary depending on the sources, but it is estimated that about 20% (yikes, that’s 1 in 5 people) of the US population suffers from some type of either food sensitivity or food intolerance.

How does a person know if they are in that 20%?? Well…that’s a great question. There are several tests on the market to test for food sensitivities. There are pros and cons to all of them. Most are not widely accepted by “conventional medicine” as they are more of a “functional medicine” type approach.

I know, I know…if the tests are not widely accepted by conventional medicine why would I encourage people to get this test?? Well…when I was a young dietitian, I was adamant that there had to be solid scientific research for me to be a believer on anything related to nutrition. Now, 36 years later—I’ve come to learn that people are unique; foods have evolved immensely; and just because the evidence is anecdotal doesn’t mean it’s not good evidence. We have practice-based evidence that supports this food sensitivity testing. I have seen testimony after testimony by dietitians whose clients have seen life-altering results.

My company has partnered with a company called Oxford Biomedical Laboratory that tests for food sensitivities. It’s a simple blood test. If you, or someone you love, is suffering with unresolved issues with IBS-Diarrhea, unexplained dermatitis, fibromyalgia, esophagitis, fatigue, and the list goes on (for more conditions click here) you owe it to yourself to check out this test.