Food Intolerance Test – Some Tips
March 12, 2011 by bgarrity
Filed under Fitness, Health, Weight Loss
Food intolerance is probably one of the most annoying things you can experience. Because food intolerance problems express themselves in an inconsistent manner they are harder to locate and diagnose than food allergies which tend to be strong and immediate. Even months of testing and avoiding particular foods may not help you get closer to figuring out the problem. You may need to take a food intolerance test to find the source of the trouble.
The first legend that needs to be dispelled is that people who are intolerant to certain foods are allergic to those food items. Food allergies are not the same as having an intolerance to those foods. The symptoms of food allergies are usually strong and come on quite suddenly, whereas food intolerances usually cause symptoms that are less severe, and can take up to 72 hours to appear. By taking a food intolerance test you will quickly discover which are the offending foods.
There is a fundamental difference between the inability to digest a specific type of food and an allergy to that same item. When you are allergic to something, the body treats it as a threat and acts to eliminate the problem. Conversely, intolerance is simply the inability of the body to handle a food item.
There are certain food that just do not agree with you. Even if your body doesn’t feel like it is being invaded by foreign bodies, your stomach and intestines (where food is digested and the eliminated) will certainly know that something isn’t right.
If your body stops producing or doesn’t produce specific enzymes needed to breakdown a certain food then an intolerance will occur. As we grow and our bodies change this can sometimes happen to us. For example, many people become lactose intolerant because the chemical needed to suitably digest lactose decreases as we age. It can take several years for the unpleasant intolerance symptoms to show up.
When trying to determine foods that your body is intolerant to you have a few different options. One way is to eliminate everything in your diet except the few foods such as; brown rice, lamb and water that most don’t have issues with. Eat only these foods for approximately three weeks. Then after the three weeks you can start to reintroduce one new food every few days. If you keep a food diary throughout this process you will be able to document which food you had problems with and which your body processed normally. In 6 to 9 months of continuing this process you will have a pretty good idea what foods affect you negatively.
An ELISA IgG blood test can determine any food sensitivities that you may have. This is a very efficient test as it uses just one drop of your blood to test for over 200 types of foods. Once you know the foods that you can not tolerate and begin eliminating them from your diet, your digestion will improve as well as your energy and your sleep. Another unexpected benefit that everyone loves is rapid weight loss!
Possibly one of the most frustrating things that you can suffer from is food intolerances. Unlike food allergies, which can be recognized by the reactions, food intolerances are a hit and miss proposition. In this case a food intolerance test is the logical way to go to find out what is causing your problems. Just because you cannot tolerate a food, it may not mean that you have an allergy to it. Once you know the foods that you can not tolerate and begin eliminating them from your diet, your digestion will improve as will your energy and sleep. Another unexpected benefit that everyone loves is rapid weight loss.
- Robert Harrison
