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• Food Intolerance and food allergy – the facts
In my practice I am regularly asked about food intolerances as it is a very confusing area for many people. Food intolerance testing has grown into a massive industry with many different methods being used. It is important to understand that there is no regulating body controlling the methods or accuracy for this industry so results can vary widely depending on the individual being tested and the operator. At the time of writing, it is my belief based on my own in depth research on the subject that there is no current testing method that I am aware of that is 100% accurate or even near this figure. This is because food intolerance is a complex reaction that does not directly involve the blood or the immune system and therefore requires a very different approach to identify it and to deal with it.
Allergy or Intolerance?
Another confusing area for many is the difference between a food allergy and intolerance. To put it simply, an allergy is an immune system response to any food the body believes is harmful. Although it is possible to be allergic to any food, there are eight foods that account for 90% of all allergic reactions.
These are: milk,
eggs,
peanuts,
tree
nuts, fish
including shellfish,
soya
and soya products, and wheat.
Food allergy symptoms can include wheezing, tingling in the mouth, hives, stomach cramps or
diarrhoea, blood pressure drop, and sometimes death due to an anaphylactic reaction. The typical time for onset of symptoms for an allergic reaction to food is 2 minutes to 2 hours, but there have been rare instances of reactions after 4 hours.
Food intolerance is an altogether different situation. Intolerance can be an adverse reaction that does not involve the immune system, but paradoxically there can also be a non allergic histamine release with a food intolerance causing similar reactions to an allergy. Generally the time taken for an intolerant reaction would be much longer, sometimes up to 48 hours. This is because most food intolerances are related to Leaky Gut Syndrome. Simply put, the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed causing extra stress on the liver resulting in poor digestion, poor assimilation of nutrients, bloating, constipation, chronic diarrhoea, headaches, skin eruptions, fatigue and various other symptoms. The problem with food intolerance is that if it is left untreated more serious issues can develop over time as the continuous stress on the body takes its toll.
70% of the world population are thought to be intolerant to four basic food groups as below. It is interesting to note here that true food allergies occur in only 1% of the population.
• Dealing with the problem
It is never a good idea to take vitamin or mineral supplements if showing symptoms of food intolerance as this will just create more stress in an already overloaded system. The body is a
marvelous machine, and if you treat it gently and give it the right support, it will usually “fix” itself! Most of us have overworked and undernourished stressed livers, and remember it is the liver that is responsible for detoxifying the body every minute of the day. But lets not forget the kidneys as well, the liver is chiefly responsible for dealing with fats, but if the kidneys are stressed it also has to help out and neglect the fat processing as the kidneys are dealing with toxic fluids that have to be dealt with as a priority. Toxins that the kidneys can’t cope with will also be shunted off to the skin, another major detoxifier. This often results in eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis.
As a naturopathic practitioner, my aim is always to help the individual recover from food intolerances rather than just telling them to avoid specific foods. Avoiding foods that appear to cause intolerance may work in the short term, but in the long term it does not address the root cause. Food intolerance means there is stress in the digestive system, and the only way to deal with this is to identify the cause, improve hydration and elimination, and address digestion and assimilation of nutrients. In all cases, a non challenging diet is needed and some naturopathic support techniques.
It is not unusual to see a rapid improvement often within 6 weeks using this approach, and the most interesting aspect of this is noting how long standing apparent “deficiencies” can disappear, energy levels come up and chronic long term health issues start to recede and in some cases disappear.
• Self test for food intolerances
When food intolerance is suspected, the best way to find out whether a non challenging diet has dealt with it is to use the avoidance and challenge method. This is the only accurate way to do this, and it is quite a simple process to follow. Basically, the suspect food is avoided completely for a period of time. Depending on the severity of the reaction this time period could be anything between 2 weeks and 6 months. The food is then reintroduced in its purest form twice a day in a normal size portion over a period of 3 consecutive days. If the intolerance still exists there will be a reaction. In rare cases, a food may have to be avoided for up to a year to allow the body to recover before reintroducing. Even when a food can be tolerated and reintroduced, it is best not to ever go back to eating large quantities again, or every day as intolerances can recur. A good guideline is to have the food every 4 days and no more, this ensures the intestinal lining does not become over sensitized again.
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