Overview: Even if you don’t suffer from typical food allergy symptoms, food allergens can affect your brain and behavior if you’re hypersensitive.
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Food allergies are on the rise worldwide. Approaching epidemic level in some areas. in the United States alone, About 10% of children and adults Allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts are the most common. Some patients have had mild symptoms that do not require medical attention, and these cases have not been reported.
Food allergies, or food sensitivities, result from an overreaction of the immune system to normally harmless proteins in food.they can appear as spectrum of symptomsMild reactions can range from itching, redness, and swelling to severe reactions, which can range from vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, and other potentially life-threatening symptoms.
In addition to self-reporting, food allergies Exposing and diagnosing patients Detect minute amounts of harmful proteins or allergens through the mouth or skin and observe their immediate reactions. More commonly, doctors use blood tests to measure levels of: Immunoglobulin E, or IgESpecialized antibodies that the immune system uses to identify allergens and provoke a reaction.
Healthy people may have low IgE levels in their blood, but patients with food allergies have much higher levels that increase the risk of having a severe allergic reaction.
However some people People with a positive skin-prick allergy test who have moderately elevated IgE do not notice any allergy-related symptoms when they eat the allergen. asymptomatic sensitizationIn many cases, people with this condition may not even be aware that they have food sensitivities.
But are they really asymptomatic? Or are there effects in the body that they are unaware of?
I neuroscientist I study the effects of food allergies on the brain. I became interested in this topic when I found out that some members of my family were sensitive to cow’s milk. People who do not have severe allergic reactions occasionally eat dairy products and develop seemingly unrelated illnesses after a day or two.
What I and other researchers have discovered is that food allergens can affect the brain and behavior in cases of hypersensitivity, even without typical food allergy symptoms.
Food allergies associated with behavioral disorders
Researchers have suspected food sensitivities as a potential cause of behavioral disorders for decades.
a 1949 case report A patient’s behavioral and mood disturbances after eating certain foods such as milk and eggs were described. After removing the suspect food from their diet, their symptoms improved, suggesting that food sensitivities were likely the cause.
However, I was intrigued that patients were able to eat the offending foods until they chose to avoid them. I had the patience.
Several recent studies in people support an association between food allergies and various neuropsychiatric disorders. depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder When autismThey reinforce the possibility that reactions to food allergens involve the nervous system and manifest as behavioral disorders.
However, the idea that food sensitivities cause neuropsychiatric disorders remains controversial due to conflicting studies. may produce conflicting results.
More importantly, some studies included people with self-reported food allergies, while others only included people with laboratory-confirmed food allergies. This limited the investigation to symptomatic individuals only.
Food Sensitivity, Brain and Behavior
tested in my lab Whether food allergens present as behavioral symptoms, especially in asymptomatic sensitizers. We wanted to find out whether eating problematic foods would lead to brain inflammation and behavioral changes after sensitization, even in the absence of other apparent severe reactions.
We chose to use mice to minimize the individual differences found in human studies. We sensitized mice of the same age and genetic background to β-lactoglobulin (BLG), a common milk allergen, and fed them the same diet in the same room.
we found it BLG sensitized mice They produced moderate but significantly elevated levels of IgE and had no immediate allergic reaction.
Eating foods containing the milk allergen for two weeks did not result in overt symptoms despite elevated IgE levels. was showing
Next, we observed whether there was a change in behavior driven by emotion. Since we were unable to ask the mice how they were feeling, we inferred their ’emotions’ by noting changes from their normal survival-oriented behavior. Rats instinctively explore their environment, seeking food and shelter while avoiding potential dangers.
However, “anxious” mice tend to spend more time hiding for safety. We identified ‘depressed’ mice by briefly holding them by the tail. Most mice will keep fighting to get out of their uncomfortable predicament, but depressed mice will give up quickly.
Our experiment was designed to simulate a situation in which asymptomatically sensitized individuals eat either large amounts of the offending food per day or small amounts daily for several weeks.
We mimicked these situations by placing large amounts of the cow’s milk allergen directly into the stomach of sensitized mice via a feeding tube, or by giving them chow containing the allergen and sipping the allergen.
Interestingly, BLG-sensitized mice anxiety-like behavior The day after ingesting a large amount of allergen.Another group of sensitized mice was developed depression-like behavior After eating a small amount of the allergen for two weeks.
Furthermore, BLG-sensitized mice showed signs of brain inflammation and neuronal damage, suggesting that brain changes may be responsible for behavioral symptoms.
again, long lasting effect of allergen consumption by maintaining BLG-sensitized mice on an allergen-containing diet for 1 month. found that her IgE levels in sensitized mice dropped by the end of the month. In contrast, signs of inflammation in the brain persist, suggesting that the detrimental effects of the allergen remain in the brain.
chronic brain inflammation
Researchers have yet to study long-term brain inflammation, or neuroinflammation, in people who are asymptomatically sensitized. chronic neuroinflammation It is known to cause neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, but the exact cause of these diseases is unknown.
A better understanding of the role allergens play in neuroinflammation will help researchers clarify whether food allergens cause chronic inflammation that can lead to these diseases.
This knowledge is especially important for patients undergoing treatment. oral immunotherapyan approach to allergy treatment involving the gradual ingestion of small amounts of the allergen.
The goal is to desensitize the immune system and reduce the incidence of anaphylaxis, or a life-threatening allergic reaction. Approved a standardized format for peanut allergens Prevent anaphylaxis in eligible pediatric patients. However, the potential long-term effects on the nervous system are unknown.
Food allergens can affect the brain and behavior of seemingly asymptomatic people, not neurologically asymptomatic. The phrase “you are what you eat” takes on a whole new meaning.
About this allergy and psychology research news
author: Kumi Nagamoto – Combs
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contact: Kumi Nagamoto-Combs – The Conversation
image: image is public domain
