By Judy Davie
For further information about food and nutrition, visit Judy Davie’s website at www.thefoodcoach.com.au
I’ve gained quite a bit of weight and feel quite depressed. A friend suggested it may be because I’m allergic to certain foods. Is this possible and if so, how can I find out what food’s I’m allergic to.
If you were allergic to certain foods you would know about it. The typical allergic reaction is sudden and strong with symptoms ranging from swelling of the lips and or throat, breathing problems, sneezing attacks or rashes. The reaction is usually soon after eating making it easy to identify the cause of the problem.
A sensitivity or intolerance is much harder to detect and people can spend their entire lives compromising their health by eating foods they are intolerant to. It can develop over time and might be triggered by factors including an imbalanced diet, stress, over consumption of alcohol and environmental influences. When we develop a food intolerance it effects our intestinal function. The food is regarded by our immune system as “the enemy” which sets about to destroy it. The result is a compromised immune system, and significantly burdened body. Our metabolism may slow down causing weight gain, sluggishness and lack of energy.
What’s interesting with food intolerances is, like many other toxins, e.g. alcohol and drugs, the body develops a dependency to it and, like a drug, it becomes something we crave and eat more and more of. Weight gain is only one of the consequences when intolerance grabs a hold. Others symptoms include migraine headaches, depression, red eyes, dizziness, skin conditions and lack of concentration. The good news is that unlike allergies, a food intolerance can be cured over time and many people can return to eating small amounts of the offending foods.
The hardest part is finding out what you might be insensitive to. Blood tests or hair sample testing are fairly common and can be organized through a natural health practitioner. They can be expensive however with some tests costing as much as $1,200. If you don’t have acute symptoms, you could try to test yourself at home. First diarise everything you eat over a couple of weeks and pay particular attention to whether you crave certain foods. If you crave many different foods check to see if there is one common ingredient or category.
Common food sensitivities
Dairy:
Some people are intolerant to dairy foods. They could be intolerant all dairy foods, including milk, yoghurt, cream, cheese and all products containing diary or just some of these foods, eg soft cheese and milk. Gluten:
Gluten is the protein in grain and another common problem. It’s found in bread, cakes, pasta, biscuits, oats, wheat, barley, thickening agents etc. Many people notice improvements when they cut out packaged bread, cakes and biscuits but can comfortably eat spelt products reduced gluten wheat) oats and barley. Egg yolk:
Egg yolk is another common problem, found in most baked goods including pancakes and cakes, mayonnaise, omelettes, frittatas etc Food colouring, preservatives and thickening agents These artificial chemicals added to packaged foods are a well known cause of headaches and behavioral problems
If you recognize a common ingredient or multiple common ingredients, eliminate the whole group from the diet, one group at a time, over a 2 week period. If you notice an improvement stay off the food for a further 4 weeks and then slowly re-introduce foods from each group one at a time. If you feel a reaction introducing any particular food stop eating it and reintroduce it again 4 weeks on or until your body tells you it’s OK to eat it again.
It’s important to note that even if you do introduce these products back into the diet you should always try to restrict the intake to avoid a recurrence.
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