Development of IgG food allergies

Damage to the intestine results in incorrect identification

Due to medicines, infections, mycosis, stress and environmental poisons, the integrity of the intestinal wall can be damaged and food components can slip between the intestinal cells.

Food that passes through the intestinal cells is correctly digested and tolerated by the immune system. In contrast, food that passes by the intestinal cells might be recognised as foreign. An immune reaction is then initiated in order to destroy the invading proteins (see Step 2).

Immune response causes inflammatory conditions

In contrast to infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, moulds and parasites and because food normally doesn’t present a threat to the organism, food is not recognized by the innate immune system, but by the adaptive immune system.

It produces IgG antibodies which recognise the food for which they have been formed. These antibodies are also transferred from mother to baby in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

The IgG antibodies fix to the food proteins to form an immune complex. In the blood stream they are called circulating immune complexes. The complement system then initiates the destruction of the immune complexes through immune cells (neutrophils). When the immune cells destroy the complexes, an inflammatory reaction takes place.

The inflammatory reaction may result in unspecific symptoms (e. g. fatigue) or in specific symptoms (e. g. migraine). This depends on where the immune complex is destroyed (see Step 3 and Step 4).

Destruction in circulation may result in unspecific symptoms

If the immune complexes are destroyed in circulation, you may not experience any specific symptoms. Unspecific symptoms can be fatigue and retention of water, reflected by an unexplained variation of body weight. On the long term, systemic symptoms like hypertension or metabolic disorders might develop.

Learn in Step 4 how the destruction of immune complexes may result in specific symptoms.

Local destruction may result in specific symptoms

If the immune complex is fixed to a tissue, it is also destroyed, but locally and the surrounding tissue is damaged as well. This may result in specific symptoms like migraine or IBS.

Note: If the food forming the immune complex is eaten regularly, the inflammatory reaction may become chronic. Symptoms (systemic or specific) do not appear immediately. It may take several months before a symptom becomes apparent. Often it starts to appear gradually, but intensifies with time.