QA with naturopathic physicians Cathryn Coe and Cameron McIntyre
What is the difference between a food allergy and a food sensitivity?
A food allergy often produces an immediate reaction to a food ingested or even contacted by the skin. If this reaction is more serious it may be life threatening, such as swelling of the throat after ingestion of peanuts or the development of hives.
A food sensitivity typically produces a less severe reaction to a food, causing a reaction anywhere from 30 minutes to 72 hours later. This reaction is more likely to produce inflammation in the body, which may be ongoing, such as chronic sinusitis or headaches.
What type of reactions do children have?
A food allergy in a child will often cause an immediate skin reaction such as hives, itchy skin, swelling of the eyes or throat, wheezing or vomiting. These reactions happen quickly within a matter of minutes.
Food sensitivities are less severe and often delayed in their reaction time in the body.
Common conditions that have been correlated to food sensitivities in children include eczema, dermatitis, asthma, frequent colds and flu, bedwetting, inability to gain weight or lose headaches, gastrointestinal symptoms and behavioral and learning difficulties.
How can food allergies and sensitivities affect a child's learning?
A child may have difficulty focusing after ingestion of an offending food. Delayed attention span, emotional outbursts, frustration, anxiety, depression, headaches, and hyperactivity are all signs that your child may be ingesting a food that is affecting their brain and nervous system.
Chronic inflammatory conditions in your child, such as asthma and eczema, may disrupt the child's self-confidence and affect their ability to participate in activities. If your child is often home sick from school, food sensitivity may be to blame as their immune system is battling reactions to foods and is less likely to ward off colds and flus.
What type of food allergies most commonly affects learning?
The most common allergies to affect learning are wheat, dairy and eggs. Several children may experience negative effects from preservatives, additives and colourings to foods as well.
How can parents spot a food allergy that may be affecting their child's learning?
Parents can look for clues elsewhere in the body. Some common symptoms that may reveal clues include dark circles under the eyes, asthma, diarrhea and/or constipation, headaches, eczema, mood issues (including anxiety and/or depression), and sleep challenges.
In addition, look for problems in the classroom, such as inability to sit still and concentrate, being easily distracted, or being easily fatigued with tasks.
What should parents do if they suspect their child has a food allergy?
They can talk with their health-care practitioner to investigate which foods may be problematic. For more serious food allergy investigations, testing is usually performed by an allergist or immunologist via "scratch test" analysis.
For lesser food allergies or food sensitivities, parents will often need to seek out more analysis via blood work as these lesser allergies often do not show in a scratch test investigation. Once the offending foods have been identified, a course of diet modification and treatment can begin.
Cathryn Coe is the owner of Marine Drive Naturopathic Clinic. She has more than nine years of experience treating conditions related to food sensitivities. Cameron McIntyre has more than a decade of clinical experience dealing with all aspects of children's health.
This story originally appeared in the North Shore News special section called Back to Class, which featured content related to school.
