Food allergies and leaky gut

[rlschell]

I'm confused as to the relationship between leaky gut and food allergies. The information out there sometimes implies that one causes the other or vice versa.

My symptoms (of food allergies) and probable cause relate very precisely to what I read about leaky gut. Does that mean I don't have "true" allergies? Or are all food allergies really caused by leaky gut?

The bottom line is that when I eat the stuff on my allergy list I get very sick and when I don't I feel fine. I'm struggling to figure out WHY these foods bother me and if there's a way to get better. My blood work shows no IgE reactions. My problems are all IgG.

Any words of wisdom?

[twinturbo]

Hi, I read your intro. Based on what you described you may want at your earliest convenience work with your doctor to rule out another autoimmune issue. I say this from recent experience having gone through a score of tests some of the symptoms you described are the sort of things the doctors were asking me. Especially with the inflammation it may be wise to go a hematologic route including lupus, additionally RA testing if your doctor believes that necessary.

[CMdeux]

It's also possible that such symptoms may be masking an underlying issue like celiac.

MANY people who eventually get celiac diagnoses were initially trying to manage symptoms (sometimes for many years) that resembled food allergies and seemed tied to particular foods.  I know a number of people who thought that they were "allergic" to white bread or pasta... to pizza... to restaurant food... to soup... to breaded fishsticks...  to pie...

well, you get the idea.

I also know a few people who have developed diabetes (type I) that initially had symptoms that seemed related to food/intolerance, somewhat weirdly.  Fruits and baked goods always seem to be in those lists of "avoid" foods for those people.


A very long list of foods in the "avoid" category, particularly in an adult, is often a red flag for another autoimmune dysfunction/dysregulation of some kind.   

An additional possibility (though I think it is probably less likely given the specific nature of the symptoms you had) is that a person may develop a single IgE-mediated food allergy to a ubiquitous/super-potent food allergen as an adult-- and find that though they test negative to the "top 8" at the allergist's office, and they can't quite pin down what the allergen might be since it seems to happen with such a variety of sources (restaurant food, food others prepare, any "processed" foods),  that they continue to react pretty much constantly.  Often, those reactions are annoying but not particularly frightening-- at first.  Unfortunately, if you don't know exactly what the allergen is, you don't know NOT to eat it in a pure form, either-- and if/when you do, you can anaphylax without warning.  This is the concern with people who present with a lot of non-specific but possibly allergen symptoms and no clear picture from a food diary.  It's worrisome, obviously, because most good allergists with an understanding of life threatening food allergy would prescribe epinephrine for anyone with a nut, crustacean, or seed allergy given how unpredictable those particular allergies seem to be. 

Some allergens which are 'emergent' include sunflower and sesame (mustard and celery are a couple of others which are becoming increasingly common, too).  These are not always labeled well, and may be hidden in spice/flavoring ingredients, or used as oils in processed foods, particularly sunflower which is the new "it" food additive/oil.  Someone with a developing allergy to one of these might not know what the culprit was-- because they are in seemingly everything.

In fact, those kinds of adult-onset allergies have something important in common with celiac; they are hard to pin down because they are SO global in terms of causing the person problems that it is almost impossible to pin down what is NOT a problem.  Your body is faced with a nearly constant barrage and has no time to recover from 'high alert' in between exposures.  This can actually cause you to begin reacting to foods that you are NOT actually allergic to under ordinary circumstances.  The difference between celiac and IgE-mediated food allergy, though, is that in the one case not figuring it out is likely to cause you severe long-term health problems down the road a bit... and in the other, every time you eat, you are playing Russian Roulette with your life without even knowing it.   Neither is a good thing, of course.  It's just that in either case, it's really critical to be operating from a position of knowing what you're trying to manage.

I mention that not necessarily for rlschell, (though I'm very happy if it helps!) but for anyone else at their wit's end trying to figure out what causes seemingly non-stop reactions to pretty much anything that they eat.   This is not a happy way to live.  Life is just too short to spend it miserable.   

A good physician would, ideally, want to do a complete history in order to get a clear picture, but way too many of them no longer have the time that it takes.  Writing things down for your doc can really be helpful. 

[rlschell]

I really appreciate the input. Let me give some additional info that may be helpful.

Several people have mentioned celiac. My doctor specializes in nutritional problems. He has tested me for celiac and autoimmune several times and each is negative. Every time I go for tests he has the lab draw so much blood for so many tests they think he's nuts!

Naturally, I have looked into celiac on my own and while some of my symptoms overlap, some critical ones do not. For example, I almost NEVER have diarrhea. When my system flares up, it goes into constipation.

Also, the safe foods I currently consume include lots of gluten and I'm thriving while eating it. Wouldn't I continue to have some kind of problems if I had celiac and was eating a high gluten diet?

[twinturbo]

I'm not a medical professional at all so I'm out of my depth but the branch I was testing in wasn't nutrition at all. It was benign hematology. Benign only because my tests results and profile did not prove to be malignant. I also do have IgE-mediated allergies which are unfortunately severe and systemic, so even though they are both autoimmune problems they are in different branches of medicine. RA would even be a third branch if I need to go down that road.