The first thing we can say about food sensitivities (FS) is that most people who strongly suspect that they have problematic food sensitivities probably do have them and, in all probability, they have other environmental sensitivities as well. (This is the conclusion that comes out of Roz Zalin's Food Sensitivity study - footnote one)

Secondly, however, nobody has a "scientific way" of determining just what these FS are (footnote two). Luckily, you can work out your FS for yourself with a little knowledge, patience and common sense. The basis of working them out is a process of "avoidance" and "challenge".

You need to avoid all suspect foods (for four to fourteen days - footnote three) because the immune systems (specifically, the basophils) of many people with FS is exhausted and if your immune system is exhausted you may not notice the FS reaction/response. Therefore you must first avoid suspected foods to "unmask" the response.

Avoid suspected foods for four to fourteen days. If these suspected foods are part of your problem, you will probably begin to feel better. After four to fourteen days start to careful challenge yourself with the suspect foods one at a time. While some FS responses can be immediate footnote four, some can be delayed by up to three days! You must therefore keep careful records while avoiding ("unmasking") and challenging. Depending on how sensitive and fragile you are, food challenges must be done carefully - preferably under supervision of a health care professional - and you must use a lot of common sense.

Gale asks if Food Sensitivities (FS) might be an aggravating factor in her condition (ulcers).

It is quite likely that FS will now be compounding your problems. Any chronic stress on the intestines is likely to cause a "leaky gut syndrome" and "leaky gut" will cause food sensitivities (FS).

Please ask if you have any questions on Food Sensitivities (or other health conditions).