of course the scientist in me also wants to know why i'm allergic to these things? because i consumed them so much all my life? just common allergens?
My family doctor explained that most common food sensitivities are caused by a combination of not-so-efficient digestion, a leaky gut, and properties of the food's protein component
* perfectly efficient stomach digestion would break down all proteins into amino acids before reaching the gut; not-so efficient digestion leaves larger pieces of protein
* the leaky gut allows still-assembled proteins to enter the bloodstream
* two properties of the protein itself influence the strength of the reaction: how easily digestible it is, and how offensive it is to the immune system if it does end up in the bloodstream
Examples:
* Proteins from meat are more likely to be well digested than casein from cow milk (ultra-pasturized cow milk being especially difficult), so meat intolerances are much more rare.
* Traditionally prepared yogurt tends to be better tolerated than straight milk, because the fermenting aids in breaking down the proteins.
* Goat and sheep milk casein have a different structure than cow and tend to be more efficiently digested by humans (though of course cow milk excels at its original purpose, feeding calves) so more people can tolerate them.
* Egg white proteins are also hard to digest for a lot of people, which is why they also make the top list for food intolerances.
* The worst food protein in both respects (hard to digest, and highly inflammatory) is probably wheat protein, aka GLUTEN!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200393522456636.htmlOh yeah... almost forgot to agree that problematic foods you eat often tend to register higher than rarely eaten ones, because your immune system learns to target those proteins as a frequent invader
