Food Sensitivity Treatment in Houston, TX
Food sensitivities refer to adverse reactions your body has to certain foods. Unlike allergies, which involve the immune system, sensitivities often result from difficulty digesting certain substances. Symptoms range from digestive issues like bloating, gas, or diarrhea to skin problems, headaches, or fatigue. Causes vary but commonly include genetics, gut health, or enzyme deficiencies. Identifying triggers involves careful observation and sometimes elimination diets or testing. Visit our practice if you notice consistent discomfort after eating certain foods or experience unexplained symptoms. Perhaps you've noticed recurring digestive issues after meals or unexplained fatigue impacting your daily life. These could be signs of food sensitivities. The Martins' expertise can guide you towards a tailored solution. They address the root causes to enhance your overall well-being, fostering a healthier relationship with food. If you're ready to understand and manage your food sensitivities, consult Dr. Bronwen Martin or Dr. Andy Martin to discuss food sensitivity treatment in Houston, TX. They're dedicated to supporting your journey to optimal health through personalized care at the Modern Functional Medicine Center.
Food Sensitivity Treatment: Overview
Food intolerance or sensitivity refers to your body's difficulty digesting certain foods, leading to various uncomfortable symptoms. Unlike food allergies involving the immune system, intolerances usually involve the digestive system. Common symptoms include bloating, gas, diarrhea, stomach pain, headaches, and skin issues like rashes or eczema. These reactions typically occur a few hours after consuming the offending food. Identifying the trigger foods can be tricky as symptoms may not appear immediately. Keeping a food diary and gradually eliminating suspected foods can help pinpoint culprits. Testing, such as elimination diets supervised by a healthcare professional, may benefit you. Food sensitivity treatment in Houston, TX, primarily involves avoiding trigger foods. If lactose intolerant, select lactose-free alternatives like almond milk can ease discomfort. Enzyme supplements like lactase can aid in digesting lactose. For gluten intolerance, switching to gluten-free options like quinoa or rice can alleviate symptoms. Probiotics might assist in managing symptoms by promoting gut health.
How Our Functional Medicine Experts Can Help
Functional medicine experts employ comprehensive assessments to identify food intolerances and sensitivities. They investigate underlying factors such as gut health, immune system responses, and genetic predispositions. They aim to alleviate symptoms and restore balance through personalized diets, targeted supplementation, and lifestyle modifications.
What are the top 5 foods that account for 90% of all food sensitivities?
- Gluten
- Diary
- Eggs
- Corn
- Soy
- Food sensitivities can cause digestive issues. Sometimes this is obvious - such as bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation immediately after eating a food. Many times the reactions don’t happen until 24, 48 or even 72 hours after eating the food. Unless you are keeping a strict food journal, you will never figure out what is driving your symptoms.
- I often see food sensitivities causing skin issues, such as eczema, and rashes. Food sensitivities can also cause fatigue, joint pain and headaches. There is growing research on the gut-brain connection linking food sensitivities to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
- Over time, constant exposure to foods that trigger sensitivities can lead to chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to a variety of health problems, including increased risk for autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
- At our practice we use an elimination diet to completely avoid certain foods for 28 days. Then we slowly reintroduce one food at a time, looking for any adverse reactions. These can be GI pain,bloating, headaches, joint pain, insomnia, beaks outs. The elimination diet helps to identify foods that you are reacting to. Then we can create a structured treatment plan based on your specific sensitivity.