{"id":14670,"date":"2022-03-06T21:29:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T21:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/?p=14670"},"modified":"2023-02-28T11:50:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T11:50:19","slug":"so-how-do-you-know-if-you-have-a-food-intolerance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/so-how-do-you-know-if-you-have-a-food-intolerance","title":{"rendered":"So, how do you know if you have a food intolerance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">If you frequently find yourself subject to nasty gut symptoms after eating, from bloating and wind to tummy pain and loose poops, then you may well have turned to Dr Google. Here, you might have quickly been presented with a list of possible food intolerances as being key to your digestive woes: and advice that you cut out gluten, lactose or wheat, to take some classic examples.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">No doubt, when symptoms are putting a strain on your social life or your confidence, it\u2019s natural to want to try out something that might help, stat. But if you do suspect that you have a food intolerance, it\u2019s important that you have this confirmed, and don\u2019t go with a hunch\/ guidance thrown up on the Internet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Why? Firstly, because this could lead to you swerving certain gut-loving foods, like whole grains, needlessly. Secondly, because your symptoms may have nothing to do with food, at all. Yep, it\u2019s also possible that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the root cause of your pains. If that\u2019s the case, then gut lining sensitivity, rather than semi-skimmed, tagliatelle or sourdough, is your problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Okay, so how do you crack the code on your symptoms? Annoyingly, the reality is that those tests that clog up the ads on your Instagram stories do not have solid evidence to back up their efficacy and are simply not valid. Trust me I wish they were, it certainly would make my job much easier. (The single exception is lactose intolerance tests.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Rather, the evidence-based way we work out if someone has a food intolerance in clinical practice is something I call the \u20183R Method.\u2019 I\u2019ve sketched out the bones of how it works, here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\">Record (you complete a 1-2 week gut diary, in which you write down everything you eat and drink, record any symptoms and record other events, such as exercise, bed and wake time and stress levels.)<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Restrict (after identifying suspected culprit food, you move into a period of restricting it. How long this takes depends on how your symptoms go.)<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Reintroduce (you re-introduce the food, to confirm it was causing your symptoms.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\">To get the complete step-by-step plan of how you go about this safely \u2013\u00a0and in a way that yields accurate results \u2013 head to pages 110-135 of my first book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Gut-Health-Doctor-easy-digest\/dp\/0241355087\/ref=pd_bxgy_img_1\/259-3197358-9730743?pd_rd_w=mBNML&amp;pf_rd_p=424ee22f-2317-49a5-9cbb-bc8836ac7d96&amp;pf_rd_r=HGHTE2FWPEBMXCQRJYEX&amp;pd_rd_r=ae8fd9f6-ebc6-412c-95a4-43414530223c&amp;pd_rd_wg=ddwIc&amp;pd_rd_i=0241355087&amp;psc=1\">Eat Yourself Healthy<\/a> (called \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Love-Your-Gut-Easy-Digest\/dp\/1615197060\">Love Your Gut<\/a>\u2019 in US and Canada). Please also note that if you have a history of disordered eating, it\u2019s important that you seek support from a dietitian before you think about trying this method.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For sure, this can feel like a hassle. But getting a handle on the genuine cause of your symptoms is essential, when it comes to being your healthiest, happiest self. You\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>How are food intolerances different to a food allergy?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Food allergies involve the immune system and essentially happens when the body mistakes certain food proteins for a harmful substance. This triggers the body\u2019s defence system, generally leading to more serious symptoms than a food intolerance would, including trouble breathing, a racing heart rate, skin rashes, and digestive problems. It\u2019s estimated that food allergies affect around 1-2% of adults, so they\u2019re less common than intolerances which affect as many as 1 in 5 people. A food allergy needs to be diagnosed with a qualified allergist or immunologist (medical doctors who specialise in allergies).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The most common food allergens are cow\u2019s milk, egg, wheat, soy, nuts, seeds and fish &#8211; but most people grow out of food allergies after early childhood. For adults, the most common form of food allergy is pollen food syndrome (PFS) as I mentioned in yesterday\u2019s post &#8211; although it\u2019s not typically life- threatening and many don\u2019t even realise they have it. In most cases, the symptoms are immediate and include mild itching or tingling of the tongue and<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">lips. Foods most likely to trigger symptoms include apples, kiwi, peaches, plums and strawberries, as well as carrots and nuts (Brazil, walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds). Eating these foods cooked or tinned could help to improve tolerance, as the heat and processing makes the protein molecules inactive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allergyuk.org\/resources\/oral-allergy-syndrome-pollen-food-syndrome-factsheet\/\">here<\/a> for more on pollen food syndrome.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you frequently find yourself subject to nasty gut symptoms after eating, from bloating and wind to tummy pain and loose poops, then you may well have turned to Dr Google. Here, you might have quickly been presented with a list of possible food intolerances as being key to your digestive woes: and advice that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-or-nutrition","category-gut-basics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>So, how do you know if you have a food intolerance? | The Gut Health Doctor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you find yourself subject to gut symptoms after eating, you may have tried to diagnose with a food intolerance, but how can we be sure?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguthealthdoctor.com\/so-how-do-you-know-if-you-have-a-food-intolerance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So, how do you know if you have a food intolerance? 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