Food allergies and intolerance

Do you have a food allergy?

Food allergies are usually fairly rapid reactions to food and in some cases this can even be life threatening. Reactions can include swelling of the lips, difficulty breathing vomiting, rash and diarrhoea.  If you experience this kind of reaction you should seek medical advice.

Do you have a food intolerance?

Symptoms of food intolerance may take longer to occur and can include:

Diarrhoea

Indigestion

Mouth ulcers

Constipation

Bloating, and gas

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

Headches and migraines

Joint pain

Eczema

Psorasis

Nasal congestion

Excess mucous formation

Hyperactivity (mainly in children)

In some cases food sensitivity may also exacerbate diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

Many people are surprised at just how mant of their symptoms are related to food.

What you can do if you suspect you have a food intolerance

Food intolerances can be extremely difficult to identify.  It is often commonly eaten foods that cause problems, reactions can occur a long time after eating the offending food and symptoms can vary enormously from one individual to another.

There are some simple steps you can take to see if you are sensitive to a particular food:

Make a food and symptom diary. Note down everything you eat every day for at least one week and note down your symptoms on each day. See if you can identify any kind of pattern.

If you suspect a particular food, trying cutting it out of your diet for a few days and see if your symptoms improve. See if re-introducing the food aggravates your symptoms again.

How our nutritionists can help you if you suspect you have a food intolerance

We can offer you test you with a scientifically validated test for food intolerance. This will test your sensitivity to over 100 foods. The results will show your varying degrees of sensitivity to different foods.

We can also create an tailor made elimination diet for you. This involves removing all the foods we feel are problematic in your diet and reintroducing them in a controlled way to monitor symptoms.

Once we have the results from your test or your diet, our expert nutritionists will give you practical advice on how to make changes to your diet. The good news is that food intolerance usually means that you have to alter the amount of a food you eat and you don't generally have to give up foods completely.

If you have intolerances to many foods it may suggest an underlying problem with your digestive system. If this is the case our nutritionists will give you guidance on how to improve your digestive health.

Click here for details on our Food Intolerance Package