Weight gain and food allergy are intimately connected.
How?

I'll show you how weight gain and food allergy are connected by giving you a comparison to something you're familiar with...




















Hayfever is a common seasonal allergy to pollen. Think about the symptoms that people with hayfever get: runny nose, puffy eyes, sneezing.

Your body produces water when it encounters a substance to which you're allergic. It's a protective mechanism, the body's way of trying to "flush out" and shield your tissues from the offending substance. In this example, the offending substance is pollen from trees and plants.

Now think about that same thing happening inside of you when you EAT something that you're allergic to. It sets off a chain reaction of complex biochemical events that cause you to retain water.

The end result? You guessed it. Weight gain!

There you have it: a clear link between weight gain and food allergy.

Food ADDICTION: A Vicious Cycle

As if the weight gain wasn't enough, food allergies can trigger an addiction to the food that you're allergic to! Click here for more information about food addiction and weight gain.

This makes weight loss even harder, because you have a strong craving for the very thing that's making you gain weight.

Foods that commonly cause allergies include:

Wheat (bread, baked goods, etc.)
Dairy (ice cream, cheese, milk, yogurt)
Sugar (candy, chocolate, cookies, cereal)

Do you see any of your must-have foods on this list? (I know I do!) So there's the next direct connection between weight gain and food allergy.

How can you avoid this vicious cycle?

Well, you could start by eliminating--one at a time--the foods that commonly cause allergies and see if you feel better and if you lose weight quickly. This process can take a long time, but if you have the patience, and cannot afford to get a blood test done, it is the next best thing.

If you choose to try the "process of elimination" for determining if you have a food allergy, remember that you need to eliminate that one food and wait for up to 72 hours (3 days). This is how long it could take your body to have a reaction to that food.

Don't want to go through this trouble? Then consider having a blood test done. The lab will use a sample of your blood to test various foods to determine whether you have an allergy to that food. From all of the research that I've conducted, the results can provide a real answer to weight loss issues. The ALCAT test is a popular test for food allergies. You can obtain the ALCAT test online. I'm researching a quality source for this, and I'll post it soon.

For More Information about Food Allergies

FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network