The reason why I use the word “hidden” is because these allergies or intolerances are difficult to identify. Most of the time we don’t even know they exist because when we think of food allergy we are thinking of the very obvious ones, like someone who is allergy to seafood, and ate something with shrimp, and within minutes reacted with full body hives, facial swelling, itching mouth and throat, etc.

However, these are not what we’re seeing in children with ADHD or even autism. Their reactions are a lot more subtle and slow. In fact, the food reactions we frequently suspect in children with ADHD or autism are food intolerance. 

Food intolerance and food allergy shares many similar signs and symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, runny nose, nasal congestions, hives, rash, etc. However, they are very different physiologically.

Food intolerances can also cause gastrointestinal difficulties, but often also result in other symptoms, which can range from headache and blurred vision to mood changes, fatigue, and pain.

Food Allergy vs Food Intolerance

We frequently refer to any food reaction as food allergy. However, most of these reactions are food intolerances instead of allergies. Food reactions are common, but most are caused by a food intolerance rather than a food allergy. Food allergy and food intolerance share very similar signs and symptoms, which is why many people are confused between the two.

Food allergy triggers an immediate immune response, usually involving the immunoglobulin E (IgE). The IgE-mediated response activates a cascade of systemic reactions, involving multiple organ systems. That is why this is the more severe form food intolerance. Fatal peanut allergy usually falls into this category. Even a tiny amount of the offending food can cause an immediate, severe reaction or anaphylactic shock, which is a life-threatening allergic reaction.

An anaphylaxis is characterized by systemic responses, such as difficulty breathing due to swelling of airway, hives along with itching, flushed or pale skin, weak and rapid pulse, dangerously low blood pressure, nausea/vomiting or diarrhea, dizziness or fainting.

An anaphylactic event requires emergent medical treatment, and delay of treatment may result in death. People with severe food allergies are usually prescribed an “epi” epinephrine pen that they carry around in case they consume or come in contact with the allergen by accident.

With a true allergy, the offending food needs to be avoided completely, especially in young children. 

Food allergies are very common in the first years of life. With every repeated exposure to the offending food, the immune system becomes better in attacking that allergen, which means the response will become more and more intense each time the body is exposed to the allergen. Children usually outgrow their allergies by 4 or 5 years of age. However, repeat exposure may prevent or delay the time to outgrow the allergy.

Food intolerance, on the other hand, usually does not involve the immune system, and reaction also comes on a lot slower – usually after two hours of ingestion of food, and up to 48 hours – and more subtle presentation. The individual usually is able to tolerate a small amount of the offending foods without much adverse effect.

Symptoms of food intolerance are generally less serious, less obvious and appear very subtly and slowly. That’s why that trouble food is seldom identified. Some common signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, constipation, diarrhea, asthma, eczema (atopic dermatitis), etc. 

Scientists are now starting to acknowledge that food intolerances may also result in behavioral symptoms frequently seen in ADHD and autism.

Studies have shown that children with autism and ADHD experience more gastrointestinal (GI) upsets such as constipation, diarrhea and sensitivity to foods six-to-eight times more often than do children who are developing typically.

Aside from being painful and uncomfortable, gut issues have been shown to deeply affect those with ASD. GI symptoms were found to be related to behavioral problems, including social withdrawal, irritability and repetitive behaviors. 

Increased gastrointestinal symptoms among patients with ADHD may be suggestive of an altered microbiome. In recent years, the gut microbiome has been found to be associated with many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, depression, anorexia nervosa, and Rett syndrome.

There are over trillion of microbes in our gut, the microbiome plays an active role in maintaining both the physical and mental health of the owner of the body. 

Scientists are now learning more about the gut–brain axis, and has established that our gut is possibly our second brain. Scientists discovered that the gut microbiome is continuously communicating with the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) through hormonal, immune, and innate neuronal pathways. The microbiome communicates with our big brain with their metabolites. This may be very important for the development of the central nervous system. This is also the reason why you want to have good bacteria in your gut. 

There may be a lack of enzymes to fully and efficiently digest a food. With normal digestion, all food should be broken down to the bare basic units of nutrients, such as glucose, fructose, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. 

With poor digestion, such as lack of stomach acid, lack of bile flow and lack of digestive enzymes, food particles may not be broken down properly for digestion, therefore, ended up with partially digested food that rots and ferments in the intestine. Worse, feeding the bad bacteria in the gut. 

Lactose intolerance is a good example.  People frequent think that they are allergic to milk. If you are allergy to milk, you cannot have any diary product at all – milk, cheese, yogurt, and anything made with or contains dairy ingredient. where the body does not produce enough lactase (enzyme that breaks down lactose into glucose and galactose). Signs and symptoms of cow’s milk protein allergy are projectile vomiting, constipation, blood in stool and skin rashes. If your child also has asthma, eczema and frequent ear infection, it’s most likely he or she has cow’s milk protein allergy. 

If you are lactose intolerant, on the other hand, you can tolerate small amount of milk with your morning cereal or coffee, enjoy yogurt, cheese, or ice cream without problem. But you cannot tolerate drinking a lot of milk by itself and eating big quantity of dairy. Symptoms of lactose intolerance are mainly GI symptoms to include abdominal cramps, gassiness and diarrhea following consumption of milk and ice cream. 

In children with Autism and or ADHD,  the body may lack a specific enzyme and is not able to process or digest protein from wheat (gluten) and milk (casein) well. The partially digested gluten and casein protein molecules have opiate properties. Because of the porous gut, these large molecules are now able to pass through the gut barrier and enter the blood circulation, cross the blood-brain-barrier and interact with the opiate receptors in the brain. Thus, we frequently see children with autism and ADHD addicted to wheat products (such as bread, pasta, crackers, etc) and dairy products (such cheese and milk).

Related: The Gluten and Casein Free GFCF Diet and ADHD

We frequently forget about that fact that the intestine is our biggest immune organ, blocking all kinds of foreign invaders from entering our body. However, when our body is reacting to certain foods or chemicals in the foods we eat, and is showing warning signs and symptoms, that means the GI tract is being attack. 

Chronic exposures to these insults may weaken the gut barrier that is supposed to be selective. Over time, this lead to leaky gut, where the intestine become so permeable and porous that it cannot do its job properly and allowing more foreign substances and partially digested food protein to enter the blood stream triggering and IgE-medicated allergic reaction.

This feeds into a vicious cycle of offending food irritating the intestinal wall, the intestinal become porous and allowing undigested food particles (from poor digestion) into the blood stream, triggering allergic reaction. 

Along with all these, the undigested food, especially carbohydrates, creates an ideal environment for the yeast and bad bacterial to thrive, making the intestinal more permeable.

Related: How to Heal the Leaky Gut 

One Italian studies reported significant improvement in ADHD symptoms in ADHD kids with Celiac disease on gluten-free diet for 6 months. The researchers tested 67 people with ADHD for celiac disease. Study participants ranged in age from 7 to 42. A total of 15 percent tested positive for celiac disease. That’s far higher than the incidence of celiac in the general population, which is about 1 percent.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of the small intestine resulting from eating gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. 

Intestine biopsy of patients with Celiac disease shows pronounced villus atrophy in a jejunum, which confirms a diagnosis of Celiac disease. The only treatment of celiac disease is a gluten-free diet, which allows for total healing of the intestinal mucosal lesion.

Once they started on a gluten-free diet, the patients or their parents reported significant improvements in their ADHD behavior and cognitive functioning, and these improvements were backed up by ratings on a checklist physicians use to monitor the severity of ADHD symptoms.

Another study investigated the incidence of ADHD symptoms in people with newly diagnosed celiac disease. It looked at 132 participants, ranging from toddlers to adults, and reported that “ADHD symptomatology is markedly overrepresented among untreated celiac disease patients.” 

Again, a gluten-free diet improved ADHD symptoms substantially in about six months after starting the diet.

These results suggest that celiac disease should be included in the ADHD symptom checklist.

So now we know your ADHD child most likely has a food intolerance and not a true food allergy. This explains why the food allergy test usually comes back clean. The allergy tests that your pediatrician uses – RadioAllergoSorbent Testing (RAST) and skin prick – only identify allergic reaction caused by the immunoglobulin E (IgE). 

Remember, the reactions we see in food intolerance do not involve the immune system, thus, RAST and skin prick will pick up nothing.

The gold standard of allergy testing is actually the good old-fashioned elimination diet, in which one or more foods is removed for a period of time. Then, you re-introduce one food back at a time in order to see if there is an improvement in ADHD symptoms. 

Because symptoms of intolerance is less severe and comes on slowly, the best way to do this is to start with a food and symptoms log to help you identify a few trouble foods. Then you eliminate these suspected food from your child’s diet to see if symptoms improve.

After some period of time, reintroduce the eliminated food one at a time to see if symptoms return.  

Sometimes you maybe able to pinpoint a few food that your child reacts to. Some parents would swear that every time their child eats or drinks anything with red coloring, will act up after. You’ll probably notice when your child’s eczema worsens with eating dairy products. Or your child starts acting silly and not able to focus after eating a lot of wheat product. But having a written record makes it more confirming. 

Another interesting point to note.  Many children with ADHD or autism crave foods that they are intolerant to, such as dairy and gluten. They are the ones who are usually big milk drinker and eats mainly bread and crackers all day long, and love mac n’ cheese. 

This could be a sign that your child is addicted to the milk protein casomorphin and/or wheat protein, gliadorphin. Both of which are opioids that attach to the same opioid receptors in the brain just like heroin and cocaine. 

If your child has severe anger rage and meltdowns, and then completely calms down back to their sweet self after eating milk and/or wheat products, consider the gluten and casein-free diet. Your child may be addicted to the opioids in wheat and milk. 

Ok, there you have it…

I hope you find this information helpful. Let me know what you think and comment below.

Remember ADHD does not doom your child to a life of under-achievement. You know your child is bright, full of potential, and deserves the best. In fact, many of the world’s greatest discoveries and inventions were made by people with ADHD.

If you’re just starting out on this natural ADHD treatment journey and still in the research phase, check out my new book Eat to Focus. Inside this book, you’ll learn why your ADHD child is always hungry, why he or she seems addicted to milk and bread, the underlying causes of ADHD, and the most effective ADHD treatment that addresses all the causes to reduce hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and anxiety while improving focus and calmness in your ADHD child.

Or if you’re ready to go on the fast track and work with me to create a customized diet and supplement plan for you or your child, contact us.

Don’t forget to download your free gift ADHD-Friendly Breakfast Ideas to Start before you leave.