It is important to distinguish between three conditions involving adverse reactions to food.
- Food intolerance is an adverse reaction to some sort of food or ingredient that occurs every time the food is eaten, but particularly if larger quantities are consumed.
- Food allergies are adverse reactions caused by the immune's system reacting against the food.
- Food poisoning is caused by toxic substances that would cause symptoms in anyone who ate the food.
One reason for food intolerance is insufficient production of enzymes or chemicals needed to properly digest that particular food. Lactose intolerance is a good example. Apparently, there is a strong genetic pattern to food intolerances.
Symptoms of Food Intolerance
Food intolerances are rarely harmful but may cause unpleasant symptoms, including:
- nausea
- bloating
- abdominal pain
- diarrhoea
In alcohol intolerance, there may be intense flushing of the skin, nausea, palpitations, headache and feeling faint.
Treatment of Food Intolerances
On the surface, the easiest treatment is to stop eating those foods that cause reactions. Unfortunately, often times the foods we like most and eat most often are the foods that we may become intolerant of. We may develop food allergies to those foods, as well.
The first thing to do is keep a food diary to help you identify the problematic foods. Once you know a particular food troubles you, stop eating that food for some time. A guideline is:
- Mild reaction - stop for 1 month
- Medium reaction - stop for 6 months
- Strong reaction - just stop -- it's really not good for you
Then, after the 1 month or 6 months, try eating that food again, but in a special way. Rotate it into your diet every 4 days. Have that food ONCE on "day 1" and then don't eat it again for 4 days. When "day 1" rolls around again, eat the food on that day.
Rotating is inconvenient but it beats never eating something you like or need but that your body reacts to if you eat it every day.
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