Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerances
Did you know there are differences between a food intolerance and food allergy? Naturopath, Mubina Jiwa, shares everything that you need to know!Since our body is so good at managing reactions it is tough to isolate food intolerances. Intolerances can pop up three days after eating a culprit food, and in some cases it may be weeks before the symptoms are bothersome enough to notice.
There are two basic immune based reactions. Food Allergies and Intolerances
The first thing to determine is whether what you are experiencing is truly an intolerance and not an allergy.
Allergies
Food allergy symptoms typically appear immediately after eating, touching, inhaling or getting injected with the allergen. Food allergy symptoms are often quite severe and may even be life-threatening. If you have an allergic reaction you may notice a red skin rash, difficulty breathing, red eyes or even a drop in blood pressure. Most people know what their allergies are at a young age, but some can develop later in life. The best way to get an allergy tested is to go to an allergist and have a skin prick test.
Intolerances
Food intolerance symptoms are not life-threatening and are delayed. They can cause a variety of symptoms and may contribute to chronic health concerns. Like allergies, an intolerance can develop at any point in life.
What is an intolerance?
It is your body fighting the food that you are eating. That food is scratching at your intestinal lining and causing inflammation which can lead to a disturbance in your gut lining that then produces adverse symptoms. When testing for intolerances the gold standard is to eliminate foods and then introduce them one at a time. Yet, this can be difficult due to the fact that there are many ingredients in foods that we eat. Many people will opt for a simple blood test that can determine your intolerances. Blood testing for food intolerances can be done at your naturopath, certain pharmacies and other health clinics.
Intolerance symptoms:
- Joint pain
- Gas and bloating
- Mood swings
- Headaches
- Lower back pain
- Acid reflux
- Congestion
- Skin issues
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Weight gain
- Cravings
The idea is to take away common aggravators, flush out your system and then re-introduce them one at a time.
How do you prep for this type of elimination?
It’s tough to jump right in to it. They key to any successful change is preparation. Pick a few weeks when you aren’t going to any parties or special events.
Give yourself two to three days to prep with these five steps:
1. Get armed with a list of common allergens
This includes; dairy, beef, pork, shellfish, soybeans, peanuts, corn, wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, oats, banana, citrus fruit, eggplant, potato, tomato, bell peppers, sugar
2. Mental gymnastics
Any task is manageable as long as you put your mind to it. Instead of thinking about what you can’t eat focus on the things you can eat! Base your diet on free-range lamb, chicken, turkey and fresh fish. You can have any whole grain that is gluten-free and brown rice. Don’t forget that you can eat vegetables that are seasoned with fresh spices.
3. Read labels
The most important thing you can do is start reading labels. Doing this will show you just what you buy contains (usually multiple ingredients) and chances are you had no idea what was in your food. For example soy sauce contains wheat and many flavourful sauces are made with sugar.
4. Eat more home cooked meals and reduce your intake of processed/refined foods.
5. Make healthy swaps
Switch your sweet snacks to fruit and your crunchy snacks to vegetables. Switch from coffee to green tea and then move to herbal teas, like dandelion.
Now that you’ve prepared well and found a good time to start off you go. Ideally you want to try to eat clean for two to three weeks. This gives your body a chance to reduce any inflammation and heal up your digestive system.
Once the two to three weeks have passed you can re-introduce culprit foods one at a time. But don’t eat foods with multiple culprits, like pizza which includes tomatoes, cheese, wheat and gluten. If you have a reaction you won’t know which of the three things is bothering you. Start by eating a banana and monitor how you feel for the following three days. If you feel fine, great, you can add the banana to your dietary rotation. If you feel any differently than how you were feeling during its elimination, keep the banana out. If you do experience symptoms give your body two days to flush it and then move onto the next item.
Final tips;
- Remember that just because you are okay eating a food doesn’t mean you should gulp it down every chance you get. You should rotate it with other foods in your diet and avoid eating the same thing more than twice a week.
- You just did a fantastic diet! Remember that healthy feeling and try to stay away from the refined and processed foods (or at the very least keep them to a minimum) - your body will thank you!
沒有留言:
張貼留言