One problem I have with the study is that they only want to look at allergies as being full blown, immediate reaction types of allergies from a pickle or whatever food they suspect. Traditional medicine completely wants to avoid the other category of allergies that contributes too many other health ailments including fatigue, indigestion, fibromyalgia, joint pain, hormonal imbalances, etc…that are classified as "delayed onset hypersensitivity."

This type of allergy does not cause an immediate response. It doesn’t make your nose or eyes water, eyes itch, create hives or effect your breathing. Delayed onset hypersensitivity or hidden food allergies as they are often called in the field on natural medicine are more difficult to identify simply for the fact that the reaction from the possible offending food may not occur for another 24-72 hours. This is why individuals and doctors have a hard time…they are looking for immediate reaction and don’t realize that the sneezing, itching, watery eyes could have possibly come from something they ate a couple of days ago. This is also why it is classified as "delayed onset."

The second reason why it is hard to identify these potential hidden food allergies is because the reactions are not as pronounced. Instead of hives and watery eyes, the offending food slowly weakens the immune system, which leaves you susceptible to any allergen, bacteria, virus or pathogen that is trying to survive and wreak havoc on your body. It’s a slow gradual weakening of your immune system. It the continue drop in the pocket, that will eventually fill up. This is why so many of my patients tell me, "but doc, why am I getting allergies now, I haven’t had a problem before?

It’s important to take ALL of these foods out of your diet for the next 2-3 weeks and allow your digestive and immune system to settle down. If you keep ingesting an offending food once or twice a day, (if it’s dairy…do you have cereal for breakfast, cheese on your salad or sandwich for lunch and eat some ice cream as a late night snack?) your body will constantly be fighting that minor assault. This irritates and inflames your digestive system and starts a whole cascade of immune response that includes histamine and antibodies reacting.

Most people usually start feeling better when they takes those offending foods out, but some people may feel worse for the first week. As the body begins to recover and not have to spend energy and resources from its immune system, the body becomes healthier. All we did was simply quit offending our immune system. Many will ask do I have to stay away from that food the rest of my life! Which I like to say, "you feel better when you don’t eat those food, but you want to eat them anyway…does that make sense? To which they usually say I get your point. However, I tell them as long as they don’t eat those offending foods every day they should be able to eat those foods occasionally or every few days. The problem is that most people eat one or all of those offending foods a few times a day, which overwhelms your body’s immune system. When you eat an offending food, give your body 4-5 days to recover from the irritation that food caused.