The occurrence of food allergies has skyrocketed over the last several years.  It seems that more and more individuals are becoming sensitive to various food items that were once a staple in our ancestors diet.

In particular, allergies to wheat, dairy, and peanut products has grown exponentially over the last several decades.  This has left those suffering from these phantom food allergies baffled and confused as to why they’ve developed.  Foods that these individuals once tolerated extremely well, are now being rejected by the body.

So, what gives? What is the cause of these sudden food allergies that develop later on in an individual’s life?

To be honest, there are numerous factors that can contribute to these random occurrences of food allergies in the body.  However, the possible overgrowth of candida should not be overlooked.

If you’re suffering from candida overgrowth in the body and find that you’re suddenly becoming intolerant to various food items, there is a good chance this pathogenic fungus is to blame.

Luckily, by the end of this post, you will have a better understanding as to how candida can cause food intolerance’s in the body and possible solutions you can put into place that may help the situation.

What is Candida?

If you’ve landed on this page, chances are you already know what candida is.  However, you may not have known that everybody has candida in the body.  It’s required to be present in the body for healthy functioning and helps the body operate at an optimal state.

In its yeast form, candida typically poses no danger to health and plays an important role in the body.  However, when conditions allow, candida is able to morph into its pathogenic fungal form.  When in its fungal form, candida can wreak havoc in the body.

High sugar diets are the biggest culprit of allowing candida to morph into its yeast form and into its pathogenic fungal form.  However, the use of antibiotics can also alter the microbiome in favor of this opportunistic yeast. 

If you haven’t done so already, we highly encourage you to check out our Crush Candida Homepage for further information on candida.

Understanding Food Allergies – Histamine

In our opinion and based on research, it seems that food allergies that are being caused by candida are a result of histamine overload in the body.  This is often referred to “histamine intolerance” and little to no solutions are ever given to those suffering from this condition.

It’s important to understand that histamine is a natural compound produced by the body.  It plays an important role in the health of the immune system and is needed in order for a healthy immune response.  Unfortunately, those suffering from various food allergies oftentimes produce too much histamine in the body.

It’s for this reason that anti-histamines are recommend in order to reduce allergies in the body.  However, this does not get to the root cause of the problem and typically will only create more problems in the future.

As a result, finding the root cause of the overproduction of histamine in the body is crucial for putting a stop to phantom food allergies.

Are you Reacting to These Foods?

It’s very common for those suffering from candida overgrowth to react poorly to the same types of foods.  These foods are typically high in histamine and contribute to excess histamine in the body.

In fact, many of these foods are healthy and it’s often confusing to the individual as to why they’re reacting to such foods in the first place.  Also, if the food was once well tolerated but you’ve developed an allergy to it, this is a good indication that you’re dealing with histamine intolerance.

The following foods are high in histamine:

• Avocados
• Bananas
• Dried Fruit
• Bone Broth
• Aged Meat
• Fish
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Eggs
• Nuts and Seeds*
• Citrus Fruits*
• Fermented Foods

*Histamine Liberators

How Candida Can Cause Histamine Intolerance

Those suffering candida overgrowth should know that this pathogenic fungus can wreak havoc on the body’s immune system.  In particular, candida has been shown to stimulate the production of histamine from the mast cells in the gut (1).

As mentioned before, the immune system depends on histamine in order for optimal function.  Unfortunately, those dealing with candida overgrowth oftentimes get stuck in a “loop” of producing histamine so that the immune system can properly fight off this pathogenic fungus.  However, most follow a diet that encourages the growth of candida which naturally causes the overproduction of histamine in the body.

Furthermore, candida releases several different toxic byproducts into the body which can cause the body’s elimination systems to function at a sub optimal level.  This can naturally slow down the body’s ability to eliminate excess histamine.

Lectins – A Contributor to Histamine Intolerance

Those suffering from food allergies, may find that various nuts and seeds can contribute to the problem.  This is because all nuts and seeds (especially nuts)  will have high amounts of lectins.  For those unaware, lectins are a class of anti-nutrients that occur in various plant foods.

These lectins are produced by the plant in order to help protect it from being consumed and to protect the plant species.  It’s important to understand that plants produce poisons (anti-nutrients) to protect themselves from predators.  Unlike animals, plants can’t run. As a result, they rely on a form of chemical warfare in order to protect themselves.

There are various methods that can be used to help degrade these anti-nutrients that occur in most plant foods such as nuts and seeds.  Cooking, soaking, fermenting, and boiling are all viable options for reducing the amount of anti-nutrients in nuts and seeds.  However, it’s impossible to get rid of all of the anti-nutrients.

Research has shown that lectins, which are abundant in nuts and seeds, can stimulate the production of histamine from mast cells in the body (2)(3).

Interestingly, the increase in nut allergies over the past several years could be due to the lectins stimulating an overproduction of histamine in the body.  Again, histamine intolerance is typically a direct result of pathogenic fungal overgrowth’s such as candida.

Genetic Factors – Diamine Oxidase

Although candida can in fact contribute to histamine intolerance in the body, there are a small percentage of people who naturally do no produce enough of the enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO).  This enzyme is responsible for degrading histamine from the body. 

Those who are deficient or do not produce enough DAO will struggle with properly breaking down histamine.  As a result, those who do not produce enough DAO may find that they need to follow a low histamine diet.  Also, incorporating foods that can increase DAO such as organic extra virgin olive oil is a viable option (4).  Also, taking herbs such as watercress which have been shown to help inhibit histamine can be beneficial (5).

However, if you’ve developed a food allergy later on in life, there is a good chance that you produce enough of this enzyme.  Rather, it’s more likely that a possible candida overgrowth is to blame for your food allergies and histamine issues.

Follow a Candida Diet

Avoiding all problematic foods is a must for anyone dealing with food allergies.  Also, incorporating a gut friendly and anti-candida diet can be very beneficial.  This will help the gut to properly heal and can shift the microbiome in a positive direction.  Luckily, we’ve created a free candida eating strategy that you can begin to use today.  All of this information can be accessed on our Candida Diet Protocol Page. 

In our opinion, diets high in sugar and devoid in high quality animal foods are one of the biggest reasons candida is able flourish in the body.  Also, high quality animal foods provide the body with important fat soluble vitamins that are critical for regeneration and repair in the body.

Lastly, it’s very important for anyone suffering with food allergies related to candida to stop consuming processed foods and sugar.  Sugar is the main fuel source of this pathogenic fungus and should be removed from the diet of anyone dealing with candida issues.