Healthy Habits: Food Reactivity

 I recently had the chance to interview Dr. Chad Larson to learn about food reactivity and what people need to know.

1. What is "food reactivity?"

Food reactivity is an abnormal immune reaction to food. Food reactivity indicates a loss of immune tolerance to a food as represented by elevated antibody lab markers. For example, if IgG antibodies are reacting to Wheat, that means the immune system has lost tolerance to Wheat and may be associated with symptoms.

2.  Why does it often go untreated?

Food reactivity often goes untreated because it often goes undiagnosed.

3.  If people think they might be reacting to certain foods, what are some of the most effective things to do?

The first step is to take the guesswork out and get tested with a simple blood draw. Intestinal permeability ("leaky gut") is often at the root of food reactivity so this should be tested along with food reactivity testing.

4.  How widespread is food reactivity?

Since leaky gut is so common, this significantly increases the chance of abnormal food immune reactions. So together, these associated problems represent one of the most widespread and undiagnosed issues that people are dealing with today.

Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, Advisor and Consultant on Clinical Consulting Team for Cyrex Laboratories. Dr. Larson holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Southern California University of Health Sciences. He is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He particularly pursues advanced developments in the fields of endocrinology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and environmentally-induced chronic disease.