If you suffer from sensitivities to foods and other substances you are not alone. A very high percentage of people in the UK suffer from food intolerance and other allergies, which produce a wide range of symptoms that often cause problems over many years. The British Allergy Foundation estimates that some 1 in 60 people have a specific allergic reaction to a particular food, and around 1 in 2 have a more general intolerance to one or more foods, often contributing to other chronic illnesses.
There is a lot of confusion about the difference between an Allergy and an Intolerance but it is actually fairly simple.
Food Allergy
When the body perceives something as potentially harmful or foreign it launches an attack by producing antibodies. If you have a ‘classic food or an inhalant allergy’ then the body produces a type of antibody called an IgE antibody. These antibodies are responsible for the reaction seen when people eat an offending food such as peanuts, shellfish and strawberries. Symptoms are immediate and can be very severe such as wheals and swelling of the lips and throat.
Food Intolerance
When you have an intolerance to a food a different type of antibody is produced – this time an IgG antibody, these antibodies can be responsible for many of the symptoms and as the are not always immediate it can be difficult to identify which food or foods may be causing a problem. For more information on Food Intolerance See Below. For information about testing for Food Intolerances click here
Inhalent Allergies
Some people are unlucky enough to react to pollen and other environmental allergens.
Food Intolerance
Perhaps you are suffering from a chronic condition, or you just don’t feel 100% or perhaps you suffer from bloating and digestive problems. If that is the case then it could simply be the food you are eating is affecting your body.
Food Intolerance is a reaction to food that may cause unpleasant symptoms and is associated with a host of chronic conditions. Symptoms can occur swiftly after eating an offending food but they can also take as long as five days to occur meaning that it can be very difficult working out exactly which foods you are reacting to.
Wouldn’t it be great to know which foods you could eat with confidence and which you are best avoiding.
Symtoms of food intolerance include:
- Lack of energy
- Bloating
- Wind
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Gas, cramps or bloating
- Heartburn
- Irritability or nervousness
- Anxiety (acute or chronic)
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Bed wetting
- Bronchitis
- Coeliac Disease
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Constipation
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Depression
- Diarrhoea
- Fibromyalgia
- Gastritis
- Headaches
- Hyperactivity Disorder
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Insomnia
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Itchy skin problems
- Malabsorption
- Migraine
- Sleep disturbances
- Water retention
- Weight control problems
Testing for food intolerances
It is simple and easy to test for food intolerances with an at home skin prick test and there are a range of different test panels which test for different foods available so you can pick a test to meet you needs. For more information please Click Here
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