It is becoming increasingly common to hear of individuals with varied food intolerances. Intolerance can be hard to pinpoint, because the symptoms can be vague, multiple, intermittent and varying in severity. You can be born with an intolerance, or it may develop at any stage of your life. You may react to a certain food such as milk, wheat or a natural or artificial flavour, colour or preservative. Intolerances, like allergies, tend to run in families and can present differently among members.
To identify and manage a food intolerance, it’s best to consult a Dietitian, who will put you on an elimination diet with a series of challenges, while monitoring results. It may take months and lots of patience, but identifying the problematic food, and how to avoid it will have a huge impact on your symptoms!
Subsequently, an intolerance can affect different body systems, with a range of symptoms that you may not even associate with food. Some common symptoms which may indicate intolerance are summarised below:
– Hives, rashes, eczema, reflux, recurrent mouth ulcers.
– Bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, frequent loose stools.
– Irritable behaviour, hyperactivity, mood changes.
– Fatigue, aches and pains, congested sinuses, asthma, headaches.
Unlike an allergy, you may still be able to consume the foods that cause you symptoms, in a certain quantity. A small amount of the food may not cause any symptoms, but a larger amount can. You may react to a gradual build-up over a few days. As a result, every person with a food intolerance will have a different story!
If you have unresolved symptoms which appear on the list above, you may have an undiagnosed food intolerance. Book an appointment with a Dietitian at Optimum Health Solutions for a full nutritional assessment and the development of a plan to identify which foods may trigger your symptoms.
