FOOD INTOLERANCE
Do you sometimes get bloating, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation or reflux? It may be a food intolerance.
WHAT IS A FOOD INTOLERANCE?
A food intolerance occurs in your digestive system (your stomach and intestines) when your digestive system is unable to break down certain foods properly so they may be absorbed by your body. A food intolerance is not a food allergy. A food allergy is an immune system response to foods to which your body is allergic. Food allergy symptoms are not necessarily intestinal symptoms, but often are the same body-wide symptoms that are caused by other allergies, such as air-borne allergies.
WHAT CAUSES A FOOD INTOLERANCE?
Some of the causes of food intolerances are enzyme deficiency, microbial/fungal imbalance (such as SIBO or Candida), motility issues, intestinal permeability, and inflammation. Food intolerances have been linked to numerous ailments and disorders such as asthma and allergies, autoimmune disorders, eczema, arthritis, brain fog, dementia, mood disorders, ADHD, fatigue, insomnia, and migraines.
HOW CAN I TEST FOR A FOOD INTOLERANCE?
There are some medical tests for intolerances, such as the ELISA and ALCAT tests. However, these tests are not always reliable, and can be costly. Therefore, it is thought that the best way for identifying intolerances is an elimination diet. An elimination diet usually requires four to six weeks in which you remove all high allergen/intolerance foods and slowly reintroduce them one at a time. As you reintroduce them, you monitor and record any positive or negative symptoms you may experience. This may allow you to pinpoint the exact food(s) that are causing the intolerance.