Can Food Allergies Exacerbate Anxiety?

Photo by Anna Pelzer

There is a lot of talk recently about how what you eat affects your mental health. Is what you are putting in your body really causing mental health symptoms? Well, according to the latest research, yes, anxiety can be affected by food intolerances. Not only do sufferers have to manage having people around them minimizing their symptoms and living in fear of exposure to an allergen, but the recent discovery of how the gut and the brain interact is cause for concern too.

The stress caused by food allergies

Suffering from a food allergy is a constant source of stress. Family and friends do not always believe the seriousness of the allergy or intolerance, forgetting to look at food labels or purposefully exposing the sufferer to the allergen. Going out to eat or ordering a takeaway is no longer a source of joy, you must ask how your food is being prepared. You become that difficult customer that servers and chefs roll their eyes at and your family stares at their feet, trying not to feel embarrassed. Your life is in a constant state of hyperawareness around food and food safety which can spiral into Generalized Anxiety. The best way to keep the stress down is really advocating for yourself or your child. Have an allergy back up plan if food is accidentally contaminated. Make sure you always have your medication with you, especially at restaurants, school, work, and family and friend’s houses. Do not let people minimize the issue and practice saying “No, thank you, I am allergic”.

IgE and IgG food allergies

Type 1 or IgE allergies are the most talked about allergies, as they carry the most severe symptoms. “They affect 2-5% of the population, mostly children, and are the most severe and come on suddenly,” says Virginia Browning, a nutrition blogger at Writinity and Last Minute Writing. Symptoms of Type 1 allergies include hives, stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and if severe enough, anaphylaxis, where your tongue and throat swell, and breathing is stopped. Without immediate medical attention, you can suffocate. In the U.S. alone, roughly 30,000 people experience anaphylaxis, with around 150 deaths per year.

Testing for these allergies includes a skin scratch test or a blood test or both.

Type 3 or IgG food allergies work a bit differently. When you eat a trigger food, the symptoms do not show up for several days, making it highly unlikely the sufferer will even link it to the food they ate several days previously. These Type 3 delayed food reactions have been linked to over 100 different allergic symptoms. There have been over 150 different medical diseases linked to Type 3 allergies, including anxiety, depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and ADHD to name a few. IgG testing is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test or ELIZA, which analyses IgG Food Antibody Profile levels of IgG antibodies for commonly offending foods. This can cost up to several hundred dollars but the investment in your health is well worth it.

You are what you eat

“There have been many links to how gut health is connected to brain health and vice versa as the gut-brain connection is bi-directional. 90% of the body’s Serotonin, your happy hormone, is produced in the gut. In addition to that, 90% of the fibers in your main nerve, the vagus, carries information from your digestive system to your brain meaning if your gut is unhappy, chances are you will be miserable too” says Keith Null, a mental health writer at  Draft Beyond and  Researchpapersuk. A quarter of people will experience depression, which has anxiety as one of its symptoms. Around 45% of people will have food intolerance. Managing your stress levels and cutting out problematic foods help keep your gut happy.

It is important to understand how gut health and mental health are related. A large percentage of the population has some sort of food allergy or intolerance. This, in turn, wreaks havoc on the digestive system and studies show that this is having a knock-on effect on our mental health. Managing stress levels, taking probiotics, and eliminating your problem foods will lead to a healthier digestive track and a happier you overall.

Have you had experiences with food allergies and anxiety? Share your experience in the comments below.

Ashley Halsey is from Jackson, Mississippi. She’s a writer at  Oxford Writing Service and  Gum Essays and has been involved in many different projects and events around the country.  When she is not looking after her two children, she enjoys reading, traveling, and attending business training courses.