Do you suffer from chronic gas, bloating, poor memory, constipation, feeling nauseous, have been diagnosed with IBS or even eczema? Even if you have just one of these symptoms then it is extremely likely the cause could be coming from your diet, and that a food intolerance could be to blame.
What is a food intolerance?
The area of food intolerance is a little more controversial than that of food allergy. This is because food allergy is quite straight forward to diagnose, as symptoms typically range from skin reactions that includes itching, rashes, swelling, vomiting diarrhoea and respiratory symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, a blocked or runny nose, to asthma – all of which show up almost immediately after the offending food item is eaten.
Food intolerances are not so clear cut in diagnosing. Food intolerances are not life threatening, like food allergies are, but can still make the sufferer feel extremely unwell and can dramatically effect their mood, work and social life.
A person with food intolerances is often left feeling quite depressed also since they feel their symptoms may never get better.
Symptoms of food intolerance can include;
- bloating
- lethargy
- IBS
- headaches
- brain fog
- moodiness
Also, unlike food allergies, food intolerances do not involve IgE immune system reactions. With food intolerances, symptoms can often show up days later after eating the offending food item/ingredient, which is what makes it hard to diagnose and find out specifically what the offending food item is.
As we know, everyone is so unique and this is how symptoms of food intolerance can affect different people in different ways. But for most people, these symptoms will usually last for at least a few hours to even days. Also it is possible to be intolerant to many different foods at the same time which can also make it harder to find out what food(s) are causing your reactions.
Where to start with food elimination
If you suspect that food is causing an intolerance which often shows as some of the symptoms listed above, then what you need to do is not eat the suspect food for 14 days.
Then you need to try eating the suspect food again in small amounts, over a three day period. If at the end of this your adverse reactions appear again then this will confirm your food intolerance to the suspect food.
Once you know what foods/ingredients are bothering your system, then it is advisable to avoid that food for the foreseeable future.
Common culprits include;
- Dairy products
- Gluten containing products
- Soy
- Wheat products; a possible week sensitivity and insoluble fibre being the cause
- Fibre enriched foods; due to high content of insoluble fibre
- Skins and pips; including brinjals, and tomatoes, berries, figs, raisins, nuts and seeds, whole peas and corn
- Intestinal irritant; citrus fruits, tomatoes, and by the food, caffeine and carbonated drinks
- Smoked processed foods; sensitivity to food additives
- Gas forming foods; lentils, beans, onions, garlic and cabbage family vegetables. Please note: do include these one by one after the elimination period has finished. There is a very high chance that not all of them will be culprits.
- Alcohol
- Fructose, this is a natural sugar found, this is often used to replace cane sugar. However, fructose intolerance, there is typically characterised by diarrhoea, abdominal cramping and bloating, can make food intolerance symptoms worse.
I would always suggest trying to eliminate food culprits you suspect yourself first, before embarking in what can sometimes be costly food intolerance and allergy testing. This should only be reserved for extreme cases where the person has tried to eliminate the majority of the foods listed above and is still non the wiser about what is causing there symptoms.
But if you are covered by the NHS, it could be worth speaking to your doctor to see what testing you can obtain on the NHS free of charge.