Surprising Signs You Might Have a Food Intolerance or Sensitivity

When we hear the word “allergy,” we immediate think of obvious symptoms – a scratchy throat, watery eyes, hives or rash, swelling, etc. But we’ve been learning more and more lately that people can experience negative reactions to different foods that are far more subtle, and therefore much harder to identify.

Although people tend to confuse them as the same, food allergies and food intolerances are different issues. Food intolerances are usually less serious, but they can be quite frustrating and annoying – especially when you don’t understand what is causing your symptoms.

Here are some things to look out for:

You’ve been gaining weight.

When you eat a lot of something that your body can’t properly digest, that body becomes inflamed. This can in turn trigger a total-body response and increase the production of insulin, which is a fat-storage hormone. So if you’ve been feeling bloated or gaining weight and have no idea why, you may want to begin monitoring what you eat and watch out for any connections between certain foods and weight fluctuations.

You’ve been feeling joint pain or muscle aches.

While it’s not one we frequently hear about, this might actually be one of the most common symptoms of a food sensitivity. Like the above-mentioned weight gain, join pain and muscle aches stem from inflammation and high insulin levels that are results of eating foods our bodies can’t process.

You’re breaking out.

Skin irritations can be triggered by a variety of things, from changes in the weather to hormonal shifts. But another potential culprit is our diet. Dairy products, especially, are known to make people who are intolerant to them break out. So the next time you feel a breakout coming on, consider the idea that it might be your immune system responding to something that doesn’t belong in your body.

You just don’t feel so great.

Our bodies and minds are intimately linked, and so it should go without saying that one can affect the other. When we constantly eat foods our bodies can’t process, we eventually find ourselves in a constant state of illness – and studies have shown that there may be a link between chronic illness and depression. When our digestion is compromised, essential nutrients can be blocked from reaching the brain – and this can create everything from increased irritability to fatigue.