An often unrecognized contributor to chronic fatigue syndrome is the presence of undiagnosed food allergies. For example, allergies to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye and to casein, a protein found in milk, can cause a profound negative impact to one’s health. The only way to verify a food allergy is with a proper test, however you can use following symptoms as a guideline. If you have some of these symptoms, an allergy test for various food allergens, including gluten and casein, is highly recommended.
Talk to your doctor about being tested, and if necessary see a holistic doctor, as a traditional doctor may not necessarily feel that an allergy test is necessary. Gluten allergy symptoms may be similar to the symptoms for celiac disease, and may be a contributing factor if you have chronic fatigue. Management of these symptoms means that you must avoid eating any gluten-containing foods. If you suspect that you have a gluten allergy, or possibly celiac disease, a simple blood test can reveal the gluten allergy, but the definitive test for celiac disease is more involved, and requires a biopsy of the small intestine. Since the symptoms of gluten allergy vary widely from person to person, and because these symptoms may not appear until days after eating a gluten-containing, recognizing that you have this allergy can oftentimes be very difficult.
A common symptom of gluten or casein allergy is weight loss, but recent research is showing that for many people weight gain actually occurs as a result of the allergy. This is usually cause by water retention brought on by the allergic response, and patients often find that they lose large amounts of weight in the first couple of weeks after starting a gluten and/or casein-free diet. In fact, people have reported losing over ten pounds in the first week of starting the allergy-free diet!
If you believe that you may have a food allergy, I recommend that you see your doctor for testing prior to starting an elimination diet. If you stop eating the foods that you may be allergic to, then the allergy tests that your doctor performs may not be accurate; it is usually necessary for you to be currently eating the foods that are causing the allergy in order for the test to reveal the allergy. So, please wait until after being tested to begin eliminating the foods that you are allergic to. If you find that you do indeed suffer from one or more food allergies, you will likely be amazed at the difference in how you feel when you remove those foods from your diet.
Naturally, making a dramatic change to your diet won’t easy. It can often be quite difficult to find foods that are ‘safe’ to eat, especially when eating out, but the benefits can be enormous! Many people report feeling better than they ever have once they started their new diet. In the case of sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome, diagnosing a food allergy and modifying your diet can make the difference between feeling miserable and getting your energy back.