Food Sensitivity

What is a food sensitivity?

It’s important to acknowledge the difference between food allergies and food sensitivities.

• A food allergy is an allergic reaction to certain foods. For example, an anaphylactic reaction to nuts.
• Food sensitivity is intolerance or hypersensitivity to a food or compound usually with a physiological response.

Here at BackFit Health + Spine, we focus on food sensitivities rather than food allergies. Food sensitivity is caused by an inability to digest certain foods, such as gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance. It is a reaction that occurs in the digestive system, such as in the stomach or intestines. This is opposed to a food allergy reaction that occurs in the bloodstream.

Usually, our body can tell us that we have a sensitivity because we don’t particularly enjoy certain foods. But some studies indicate that our food sensitivities can appear as foods we crave!

This is due to a release of histamines, cortisol, or endorphins when eating these foods to counteract their negative effects. The body may experience a soothing response from these chemicals increasing your desire to eat more of the foods that are hurting you.

And sometimes it’s difficult to tell what specific food you are sensitive to, such as sensitivity to certain food additives. We can help you identify what you are sensitive to.

Signs and symptoms of food sensitivity

Note that all adverse reactions from food sensitivity are delayed onset. This means that symptoms or pain may take hours or days to appear after you have eaten the food you are sensitive to.

You might experience these symptoms from food intolerance:

The wrong foods may also make ADHD worse and can cause back pain.

What does Backfit do for food sensitivity?

If you are experiencing 1 or more of the above symptoms and think you might have a food sensitivity, the best thing to do is to get tested.

We offer 2 different tests:

1. Blood test: we take a few vials in order to test for most food sensitivities.
2. Pinprick: we take a very small amount of blood from the finger. Great if you are testing your kids or if you have a concern with needles (this test is not available in every clinic; schedule ahead to confirm).

BackFit tests over 150 foods to determine exactly what you’re sensitive to such as dairy, meats, fruits, fish/shellfish, grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and more.

Once we receive the results, we’ll provide you with medical advice on an elimination diet. With your specific results, we’ll be able to discuss with you specific and common foods that you can eat or should avoid.

We encourage our patients to get tested at least once a year because food sensitivities are not fixed and will change throughout the course of your life.