The Root Cause Medicine Podcast · Rupa Health

Food Sensitivities with Brandy Zachary, DC, IFMCP, Clinical Director at Body Love Cafe: Episode Rerun

·43 min·2 clips

IgE can show up immediately to 24 hours later, while IgG reactions can take up to four days.

1. The Root Cause Medicine Podcast episode focuses on food sensitivities with Dr. Brandy Zachary and the idea that inflammation links the gut, the brain, and symptoms. 2. Host Dr. Anthony Profasi interviews Dr. Brandy Zachary, a functional medicine doctor, clinic owner, trainer, author, and lead instructor for the Functional Medicine Academy. 3. The episode asks why food sensitivities seem more common now and how testing can separate true allergy from delayed immune reactions. 4. Zachary says research shows both higher reporting and actual increases in food sensitivities, not just better awareness. 5. She points to migrants and immigrants whose gut diversity and allergy patterns change after moving to a new country. 6. She names the Western diet, processed food, less food diversity, and pesticide exposure as part of the environmental shift. 7. She explains that immune activation, negative bacteria, and gut damage can let food particles cross into the bloodstream. 8. Zachary says that crossing into the bloodstream can trigger systemic immune activity, autoimmune conditions, poor digestion, and hormone changes. 9. She gives an example of a patient whose lifelong itching disappeared after a four-to-six-week diet change. 10. That patient also reported better sleep, hormone changes, weight loss, and mood improvement after removing the offending foods. 11. Zachary says a scratch test can show IgE allergy even when a person is not having anaphylaxis. 12. She distinguishes immediate IgE reactions from delayed IgG and complement responses that can appear up to four days later. 13. She says people often misread their own timeline and blame Wednesday symptoms on Wednesday food instead of Monday breakfast. 14. She explains that all four classic allergy types can be related to food, but they differ by timing and immune pathways. 15. Zachary says allergy shots are designed to build IgG4 and block an IgE response, but too much IgG4 can create its own problems. 16. She argues that a lab should show IgE, IgG4, IgG, and C3D complement rather than only one marker. 17. She recommends Allergy 88 for food markers and the Advanced Intestinal Barrier Assessment, or AIBA, for leaky gut markers. 18. Zachary says leaky gut means the intestinal barrier lets too much through, which can drive immune activation and autoimmunity. 19. The interview is practical, clinician-led, and heavy on testing language, lab names, and patient examples. 20. People dealing with itchiness, digestive symptoms, migraines, rashes, or mood changes would likely want it, while listeners looking for a light overview may skip it.

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