Food Intolerances

Food intolerance is otherwise referred to as non-allergic food hypersensitivity. It is a negative reaction to a food, food additive, and beverage and in some cases, compound found in certain foods. Some experts in the field describe it as an adverse reaction to some types of food that takes place when the food is eaten especially in larger quantities. It can result from the lack or absence of digestive enzymes or from the body’s inability to absorb nutrients. It can also be caused by drugs that are sourced from plants, such as aspirin, which is used for the relief of pain and fever. Its common effects on a person are weight loss and malnutrition.

Food intolerance manifests itself in certain signs and symptoms about half an hour after eating or drinking the food or beverage in question. These symptoms usually affect the skin, respiratory tract, or gastrointestinal tract. The symptoms on the skin may include skin rashes, hives, dermatitis and eczema. Included in the respiratory tract symptoms are nasal congestion, sinusitis, asthma and dry or unproductive cough. In the gastrointestinal tract, the possible symptoms are abdominal cramps, gas, nausea, constipation, intermittent diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and anaphylaxis or hypersensitivity to drugs. Other symptoms may also show as tiredness and fatigue, headaches, depression, bloating, insomnia, heartburn, irritability and nervousness.

Some types of food intolerance that affect many people are enzyme deficiency, allergy-like intolerance, irritants, food chemicals, food toxins and sulphites. With enzyme deficiency intolerance, an enzyme is either missing or not functioning in the digestive system so that it results in such symptoms as diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain, among others. Allergy-like intolerances are easily diagnosed through a food-elimination diet, or removing from the diet the food in question. Such foods as caffeine, spices, garlic, onions, cabbage and dried fruit can be irritant and can cause many symptoms of intolerance. Chemicals that are naturally found in foods are salicylates and amines that can cause asthma, hives, eczema and migraines. Natural toxins are contained in some foods like spoiled fish, green sprouting potatoes, dried beans and chickpeas, insect-damaged parsnip, cassava, taro leaves and bamboo shoots. The last three foods need to be properly prepared and cooked to do away with their natural toxins. Sulphites, which are preservatives used in wine and dried fruit, can cause skin rashes, asthma, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome.

Nutritionists and healthcare specialists say that food intolerance can be easily determined, dealt with and even treated. The easiest way to diagnose it is to remove the trigger food from the diet to see if the symptoms improve. If the symptoms do, the food needs to be reintroduced.  If the symptoms return, intolerance to the food is very likely. One of the ways that can deal with it is avoidance of the food that causes the unpleasant symptom or eating the problem food in only very small amounts. As a whole, there is need to restrict certain foods that one takes by way of gauging the body’s response.