Hippocrates circa 400BC
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food"
You Are What You Eat
• bloatedness
• diarrhea
• regurgitation
• rashes/flushing
• bloatedness
• diarrhea
• regurgitation
• rashes/flushing
Food = Nutrition
• How your body looks, feels, functions depends largely on what you put in it.
• The body needs a bare minimum of the right food to function.
• 1000 - 1800kcal per day
“What is food to one man may be fierce poison to another”
Lucretius circa 75BC
Food Allergy• Immediate onset IgE-mediated, skin test positive, often self-diagnosed
• Delayed onset IgG-mediated, skin test negative, rarely self-diagnosed
also called: Food Intolerance - UK Food Sensitivity - US
IgE Response to Food• Generally rapid onset after ingestion
• Histamine production is rapid
• Classic ‘Allergic’ response
IgG Response to Food• Food proteins are recognised as “foreign” • Food specific IgG production and formation of antigen/antibody
complexes • Complexes are deposited in tissues and activate complement • Complement and macrophages stimulate Inflammation • Delayed reaction and may last for days
Common Food Intolerances
Cows Milk Cheese Nuts
Gluten Wheat Egg Soya Yeast
• Detect the presence of IgG antibodies to specific foods which may be implicated in food intolerance in symptomatic patients
• Provide a means to identify the foods most likely to cause a problem, provided the symptoms are food related
Food Intolerance Test (FIT)
• ELISA: Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay
• a few drops of blood
Food Intolerance Test (FIT)
Food Intolerance Test (FIT)
• More than 200 food antigens tested
• antibody count >30 • ranked according to
reactivity • interpretation by
physician and/or nutritionist
How does it affect us?
• First tissue of contact
• Persistent inflammation
• Malabsorption
Conditions related to Food IgG• Bloating • Migraines • Insomnia • Weight problems/Obesity • Anxiety • Skin problems • Itchy skin (eczema) • Irritable bowl syndrome • Sinusitis
• Abdominal pain • Allergic rhinitis • Palpitations • Persistent cough • Pre-menstrual
problems
• Flattening of the absorptive surface of the intestines (villi)
• Normal villi
On endoscopy...
Malabsorption• Autoimmune diseases • Headaches • Fatigue • Depression • Arthritis and joint pain/stiffness and swelling • Chronic Respiratory symptoms (wheezing or bronchitis) • Abdominal Pain • Bowel Problems (colitis, diarrhoea, constipation)
Malabsorption
DISEASE
GENETICS ENVIRONMENT
Thank you.