Health advice - Allergies

Food intolerances seem to on the rise. Are we becoming more and more allergic and intolerant, or is there something else behind the growing figures? Perhaps part of the reason is the increased awareness of how the foods we eat affect our health and wellbeing. Much is written about intolerances and their symptoms, and many people come to us wishing to be tested to help resolve their health issues. The most common symptoms linked to food intolerances are bloating, fluid retention, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, asthma, migraines, rhinitis and aches and pains.

However, food intolerances may not always be as straight forward as getting tested, then avoiding the foods indicated and feeling great as a result. First of all, there is a huge variety of different allergy and intolerance tests available with equally varying methodology and costs. You can get your intolerances checked with muscle testing, electronic impulses and blood tests either from a skin prick or from a venous blood sample. The soundness of the science behind these tests also varies. In terms of the medical research, the field of intolerance and allergy testing is still very young. Even some top allergy specialists in the country agree that at times the only fool proof way of testing is the so called ‘elimination and provocation’ test, where the suspected foods are first removed from the diet for a set period of time, and then re-introduced one by one while any symptoms are closely monitored.

If all this sounds a little complicated, do not worry. We frequently find in our clinical practice that food intolerances are not the cause of the health problems, but in fact the symptom. Food intolerances can often develop as a result of underlying digestive disturbances. Perhaps the easiest way to explain this is to look at the link between digestion and the immune system. Perhaps the easiest way to explain this is to look at the link between digestion and the immune system. The immune system is the ‘gate keeper’ that vets everything we ingest and determines what is safe to allow in the body. If your digestion is not working well, the immune system may not recognise the larger undigested food particles that it is now presented with and goes on the defensive. As a result, you may experience diarrhoea, bloating, stomach cramps, skin problems and a whole host of other symptoms.

In other words, the inability to properly digest any foods can cause your body to treat them as ‘foreign’ and you will start experiencing unpleasant symptoms every time you eat those foods. It is perhaps then no surprise that wheat gluten and dairy proteins, both of which are relatively hard work for the digestion, are the two foods most people report to be intolerant to.

So when we see clients with food intolerances, the most frequent test we suggest is not an intolerance test, but a comprehensive digestive stool analysis. This gives us a detailed view of the state of the digestive system such as the levels of good bacteria, whether there is overgrowth of any unwanted bacteria, how well the digestive enzymes are working as well as uncovering any potential parasites that disrupt the digestive function. We find that many times, once the digestion is back into working optimally the food intolerance symptoms are also a thing of the past.

If you are not sure whether your symptoms are caused by food intolerances or by some underlying digestive issues, we’d be happy to discuss the best way forward for you.

Call now for a free no obligation chat to find out how nutrition can help you.

Tel:  07790 396 320 or e-mail:  sanna@sannahealth.com