What is food sensitivity
Food intolerance refers to the adverse reactions our body shows to events triggered by a food or food component. Lactose intolerance can be given as an example of this. These are not related to the immune system. These reactions occur due to foods or food components that cannot be digested or absorbed.
For example, people with lactose intolerance lack the lactase enzymes needed to digest the lactose sugar in milk. Lactose intolerance is seen in 50 percent of adults worldwide and is the best-known food intolerance.
Some people also have an intolerance to additives such as flavor enhancers or preservatives (sulfites). Symptoms can vary from person to person, and it is often impossible to determine which food component causes which reaction.
Symptoms of food intolerance can be confused with food allergy. For this reason, it is important to consult a doctor in order to determine the causes of a reaction to a particular food.
WHAT IS FOOD INTOLERANCE
All excessive reactions shown by the organism to a food component are called food sensitivity. Food sensitivity is divided into two: food allergy and food intolerance. In both, an excessive reaction can occur even to safe foods.
Many foods we eat and believe to be healthy may be creating negative effects in our body. For example, if an egg — which we think is very healthy — cannot be digested by our body, our body begins to react against the proteins within that egg. This negative effect is called "Food Intolerance" and leads to negative effects ranging from weight gain to many chronic conditions in the body.
HOW DOES IT DEVELOP
There is no simple answer to this question. While it varies from compound to compound, the deficiency of certain enzymes (enzymes are needed for specific chemical reactions in the body), heredity, stress or illness, an imbalanced immune system, environmental pollution, and the absence of a balanced diet are the main mechanisms that make food intolerance possible.
In the process between eating food and its elimination from our body, food continuously undergoes breakdown.
Food, which first begins to break down in the mouth, later reaches a certain consistency through stomach acids and movements, and passes into the intestine.
Through the effect of various enzymes in the intestine and the dense gut flora, this food is broken down into the smallest particles.
During this breakdown, proteins in food are broken down into smaller particles, that is, amino acids, and continue their journey by entering the bloodstream to be used where needed in the body.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SOME PROTEINS ARE NOT BROKEN DOWN INTO AMINO ACIDS
The absence of various enzymes in our body, disorders in the gut flora, or conditions such as leaky gut syndrome prevent food from being broken down properly into amino acids in the intestine, and foods pass into the blood without being broken down. The defense system treats these as a foreign substance and mobilizes the defense system just as it would attack a bacterium or virus.
As a result of this attack, inflammation occurs in the body and side effects begin to appear. Rising CRP values primarily lead to symptoms such as weakness, slowed metabolism, and intestinal problems. If the patient continues to regularly consume the same food unknowingly, many more chronic conditions begin to develop.
In my next article, I will address the topic of "the differences between food intolerance and food allergy."