Role of Hormones in food sensitivity

 

Role of Hormones in food sensitivity

Food sensitivity is similar to food allergies involving the immune system. However, instead of triggering 

·     Food allergic reaction caused by IgE antibodies in the immune system. while 

·      Other antibodies cause food sensitivity in the immune system, known as immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA). 

These IgA and IgG antibodies can travel throughout the body and cause widespread symptoms. In contrast to IgE-mediated reactions, food sensitivities can be delayed in nature, after which the reaction lasts for several hours to days later. Although these symptoms may not be as fatal as an IgE-mediated allergic reaction, they can be quite diffuse and intrusive.

Thyroid, estrogen, cortisol, and progesterone all play a key role in maintaining intestinal obstruction. So, let's take a look at these hormones, how they help develop food sensitivity.

Stress is an important trigger for food sensitivities.

Chronic stress is the most crucial risk factor for food sensitivities. Our body's master stress hormone is cortisol, effective for lowering Secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA), an immune antibody found throughout our mucosal barriers, including the eyes, mouth, throat, sinuses, and respiratory system GI tract, vaginal tract, and urogenital tract. 

Think of the sIgA as our first line of defense. Under chronic stress conditions, elevated cortisol can significantly decrease sIgA production. Without this first line of defense, cortisol can begin to impair the integrity of our intestinal lining and lead to a phenomenon known as intestinal permeability, or more commonly known as "Leaky Gut Syndrome."  

A leaky gut then allows large blood proteins to enter the bloodstream. Once these large food proteins enter the bloodstream, our immune system can trigger an inflammatory reaction against these "foreign invaders." As a result, this inflammatory response can reveal various symptoms such as headache, joint pain, brain fog, eczema, and mood disturbances such as irritability and anxiety. These symptoms are eventually classified as food sensitivity reactions.

Unfortunately, our bodies can't differentiate between distinct types of stress (emotional, physical, or physiological). These different types of stressors can trigger the release of cortisol. One of the most stressful events our body usually experiences is dysglycemia or blood sugar imbalance. A typical dysglycemia pattern is low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.

Typical symptoms of hypoglycemia include hunger, irritability (a.k.a hanger), restlessness, anxiety, and fatigue. Whenever our bodies enter a hypoglycemic state, our adrenals release cortisol to help stabilize our blood sugar levels. It gives us a temporary boost in blood sugar, and as a result, a temporary increase in energy as well.

Thyroid hormones can also promote food sensitivities.

Hypothyroidism is an autoimmune thyroid disease secondary to Hashimoto's disease, is a major cause of food sensitivities.

In hypothyroidism, a person has insufficient levels of thyroid hormones T4 and T3. The T3 hormone is our active thyroid hormone, and it is derived from the T4 thyroid hormone. It is our T3 thyroid hormone that plays a significant role in maintaining the intestinal lining. Lack of adequate T3 thyroid hormone can cause immune dysregulation with the gut lining, suppress the release of digestive enzymes, and ultimately lead to intestinal permeability. All of these effects of low T3 thyroid hormone can promote the development of food sensitivities.

A primary inflammatory mechanism regulates inactive T4 thyroid hormone conversion into active T3 thyroid hormone in most autoimmune thyroid cases. Examples of inflammatory mechanisms include poor diet, chronic stress, imbalanced microbiome, gluten sensitivity, a viral infection such as Epstein-Barr virus, or high exposure to environmental toxins such as glyphosate.

If you struggle with hypothyroidism and food sensitivities, it is essential to set maximum T3 thyroid hormone levels first. Once your thyroid hormones have improved, it is much easier to treat food sensitivities. In many cases, I have found that addressing the thyroid eliminates food sensitivities.

A clear point:

Gluten sensitivity is a primary trigger for both food sensitivity and Hashimoto's disease. If you struggle with food sensitivities and significant Hashimoto's, replacing gluten in your diet will be a challenge. While other food sensitivities can be healed and addressed over time, you will likely need to avoid gluten for a long time to maintain Hashimoto's discipline.

Sex hormones also play a role (especially in histamine-driven reactions).

The food sensitivities you are struggling with maybe intolerant to histamine.

Histamine is a chemical compound that is stored in our mast cells and other immune cells. Histamine is known for its role in potentially food sensitivity that causes allergic reactions. When histamine is released from mast cells, it can trigger an allergic reaction. And cause symptoms such as swelling, asthma, hives, vasodilation, allergic rhinitis, itching, and in severe cases, anaphylaxis. In addition to eliminating the allergic reaction, histamine has many other functions, namely immunity, brain health, and acidification of stomach acid.

We produce histamine naturally in our bodies. However, we also consume histamine through aged and fermented foods, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant, canned fish, and alcohol.

The body metabolizes histamine through histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) and diamine oxidase (DAO) enzymes. Therefore, despite the name, histamine intolerance is not the real "intolerance" for histamine. Instead, when there is too much histamine in the body, that can be due to the breakdown of these two enzymes, which causes histamine intolerance. The common reason for histamine intolerance is an imbalanced microbiome or gut dysbiosis.

Histamine intolerance is connected to our sex hormones. Mast cells contain both estrogen and progesterone receptors. Estrogen causes more histamine to be released when it binds to the mast cell receptor. At the same time, estrogen can also affect DAO enzyme activity and often regulate down, an essential enzyme for breaking down histamine.

Progesterone can lower histamine levels. While DAO enzymes fluctuate throughout menstruation, they peak during the luteal phase or progesterone dominant phase. These fluctuations are fine if your sex hormones are balanced, but you may be at a higher risk of histamine intolerance if you struggle with hormonal imbalances.

PCOS also develop food sensitivities

The most common hormonal imbalance in women who develop food sensitivities is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In women with insulin-resistant PCOS, the pattern of dysglycemia will once again trigger intestinal permeability and lead to the development of food sensitivities. In this case, insulin resistance will promote hyperglycemia or too much blood sugar in the bloodstream.

Remember that the job of insulin is to carry glucose into the cell. When the cell becomes resistant to insulin, glucose can no longer enter the cell. Instead, too much sugar remains in our bloodstream until the body can move glucose to other areas.

When it's time to consult a practitioner who specializes in approaches to functional medicine

If you do not notice an improvement in your food sensitivity after trying an elimination diet, I encourage you to work with a practitioner specializing in the functional medications approach. 

You may need in-depth tests that assess your adrenal, thyroid, and sex hormones, as well as the status of your microbiome status.

With this testing data, your practitioner can help you decode your food sensitivity symptoms from a whole-body system perspective. And offer you a supplement, comprehensive diet, and lifestyle program that aids you finally to get rid of food sensitivity symptoms and allows you to resume a diet rich in various foods.