Food Intolerance - what’s that all about?

We hear so much more nowadays about food intolerance which is different to a food allergy.  This is where we incur an adverse reaction to a food because our body does not absorb or digest the food properly.  Food intolerance can cause our bodies to react in a number of ways, which can make you feel very ill.  Some illnesses and complaints resulting from this include migraines, IBS, arthritis, lethargy, tiredness, bloated  and skin problems.

A common food which people are intolerant to is lactose, ie the sugar that is contained in milk.  This is because they do not have the enzyme known as ‘lactase’ which is needed in order to digest lactose.  We cease producing that enzyme when we reach approximately 4 years of age.

People sometimes react to chemicals in foods such as histamine, caffeine and salicylates.  Others consume too much of one type of food and the body struggles to digest it.  Common foods known for intolerance are chocolate, diary foods, breads, pasta, strawberries, yeast, seafood and MSG contained in take-out foods and processed foods.

Usually it is necessary to cut out the foods you are intolerant to for a period of time, often approximately 3 months.  It can then often be possible to reintroduce those foods with no adverse reaction.

This entry was posted on 03/08/2010 at 05:20 pm and is filed under Latest from Ann. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.