Have you ever felt fatigue, bloating, or mysterious headaches after eating? You are not alone. These are signs of food intolerance, a condition often underdiagnosed due to its subtle symptoms. Recognizing these signals from your body is the first step in addressing your dietary concerns. To accurately identify and manage these reactions to certain foods, consulting with health services laboratories can provide you with a comprehensive analysis. This article will help you identify and understand what food intolerances are.
About Food Intolerance
Food intolerance means that your gut can’t tolerate certain foods. It is different from food allergies. Food intolerance often causes mild symptoms such as stomach pain, gas, diarrhea, and headaches. It develops when the gut has difficulty breaking down certain foods. Symptoms typically start within hours after eating the offending foods.
On the other hand, food allergies cause allergic reactions such as hives and swelling. This response is immediate and can be life-threatening. Even consuming a small amount of the allergenic food can lead to an extreme, severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Around 20% of people have food intolerances [1]. However, many cases are not treated due to a combination of factors including lack of awareness, nonspecific symptoms that are easily misattributed to other conditions, and the absence of standardized diagnostic tests. Additionally, the subtle and delayed nature of symptoms makes it challenging for individuals to identify the offending foods and for healthcare professionals to provide accurate diagnoses and effective management strategies.
A functional medicine doctor can help pinpoint food intolerances and craft a personalized plan tailored to your needs. Embracing a holistic approach, these alternative healthcare professionals view the body as an integrated system, delving into the root causes of food intolerances by examining lifestyle aspects like diet, stress, sleep, and exercise habits.
They will guide you to the right health service laboratories, where advanced diagnostic tools, including a urine analysis test, are used. It can offer unique insights into your body's response to certain foods.
How to Identify Food Intolerances
Option #1. Food Diaries. Keep a detailed food diary. Ensure you document the foods consumed with each meal and the following symptoms. Consider the following facts:
- There is a delayed reaction. Unlike allergies, symptoms of food intolerance often develop several hours after consuming the offending foods.
- Symptoms are diverse. Pay attention to all the symptoms you experience about a meal, because food intolerances trigger many symptoms. Common signs include bloating, diarrhea, stomach pain, headaches, and fatigue. However, conditions like depression, anxiety, brain fog, poor attention and focus, and even hearing loss have also been linked with food intolerances-especially in cases of gluten sensitivity. [2]
- The intensity of the symptoms varies. Symptoms can range from mild belly pain discomfort to severe headaches
- Symptoms are not life-threatening: Unlike food allergies, food intolerances do not cause life-threatening reactions. They can, however, cause uncomfortable symptoms which should be assessed and treated.
For a more definitive approach, consider consulting a healthcare professional about a blood test for specific food intolerances. This test can complement your food diary by providing concrete evidence of how your body reacts to certain foods, helping you and your healthcare provider develop a tailored management plan.
Option # 2. Lab tests. Try finding a food sensitivity test near you. The results can show which foods you might be sensitive to, so you can make specific changes to your diet. It's a good idea to use the lab test results and the information from your food diary for the best outcome.
Option # 3. Elimination Diets
Try elimination diets to help find out if you have food intolerances. You remove foods you suspect might be causing problems for 4-6 weeks, and then add them back one at a time to see how your body reacts. This can be done with common trigger foods like gluten and dairy, or foods that lab tests and food journals have pointed out.
Common Causes of Food Intolerance: Revealing the Culprits
Understanding the common causes of food intolerance is crucial for embarking on a path to optimal health, and a preventive health checkup can be instrumental in this process. Here are some of the most common culprits.
- Lactose intolerance is the body's inability to fully digest lactose. Lactose is a sugar found in milk and dairy products. Lactose intolerance develops due to a deficiency of the enzyme lactase.
- Gluten sensitivity (non-celiac gluten sensitivity). Gluten sensitivity arises from difficulties digesting gluten. Gluten is found in wheat and other grains. It's important to note that many processed foods contain gluten.
3) Sensitivity to food additives and chemicals is another common cause. Artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and colorings can trigger adverse reactions- including foot intolerances, in many people.
4) Fructose Malabsorption: Fructose malabsorption is the inability to properly absorb fructose. Fructose is a type of sugar commonly found in fruits.
Your health and vitality are closely linked to what you eat. If you've been experiencing unexplained symptoms like fatigue, bloating, and headaches after eating, do not ignore these symptoms. They could be a sign of food intolerance. Take control of your health today. Look for an advanced food sensitivity test near you. Schedule your food intolerance test now.
FAQ
- What are the symptoms of food intolerance? Symptoms are diverse and include digestive issues. For example, stomach pain, gas, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome. Other symptoms associated with this condition are headaches, fatigue, brain fog, skin rashes, and acne.
- How can I test myself for food intolerance? You can try on your own an elimination diet or keep a food journal. Keep in mind: If you want to get tested for food sensitivities, you'll likely need a referral from your doctor.
- Can food intolerance cause weight gain? Food intolerances can cause weight gain due to inflammation and bloating. Inflammation disrupts the metabolism and hormones.
- Does casein trigger lactose intolerance? Both casein (a protein) and lactose (a sugar) from cow’s dairy can cause food intolerances. Recent research shows that casein A1 in cow's milk might be the cause of intolerance to cow’s milk. That's why functional medicine doctors advise people to avoid this type of cow's milk entirely, even if it is lactose-free. [3]
- Can you do a food intolerance test at home? Yes, you can. Search online for health services laboratories that provide food intolerance home tests.