Food Intolerances – what is really going on?

It seems like every second person that I talk to these days has a food intolerance. I myself developed food intolerances later in my life, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I ignored or just tolerated my food intolerances until I developed a deeper awareness of my body.

When I tell others about my intolerances to dairy and gluten, I am often met with rolled eyes or they will comment in a cynical manner “everyone has food intolerances these days”, as if it is a choice that I have made to have an intolerance rather than a reality. There is a general perception in society that food tolerances are just a modern day fad or trend as they were seemingly unheard of in the past. So are they just a fad or are food intolerances afflicting more and more people these days?

First, let’s look at what a food intolerance is?

A food intolerance is a digestive system response. It generally occurs when food irritates the digestive system or when one isn’t able to digest and process some foods properly due to lack of certain enzymes and insufficient friendly gut flora. Generally, food intolerances are not taken seriously because they do not cause a life threatening reaction as can be the case with food allergies, which are an immune system response.

So why are food intolerances so prevalent in society these days when in the past they were seemingly unheard of?

Apart from there being a deeper awareness in society of how food can and is physically affecting our bodies, medical research indicates that a possible cause of food intolerances is the increased consumption of manufactured foods, which contain additives, flavourings and colourings and less of a balanced diet incorporating freshly produced or ‘real’ foods.

Regular consumption of these manufactured foods causes the body to be on constant high alert to fight against what it perceives as an intruder. Continued or long term consumption of such incompatible foods stresses the immune system, affects the digestive system and ultimately causes the body to react more to what we eat.

It is also thought that the frequent use of antibiotics, particularly in childhood, is a contributing factor in the growing amount of food intolerances. Frequent antibiotic use creates an imbalance in our gut flora, which then compromises our gastrointestinal system and its ability to digest and process foods properly.

The way that we eat today has changed significantly. Once upon a time, food production was once very simple - produce was grown or livestock was raised on small farms, orchards and market gardens, traded at local markets, and cooked at home. Now, with the ever growing availability of fast foods and pre-prepared or packaged foods, we are consuming less fresh produce and turning to these quick and convenient options, which suits our increasingly busy lifestyles.

These manufactured options taste good because they are full of sugars, fats and flavour enhancers, and they are often cheaper than purchasing freshly produced foods, adding to their appeal. With this shift in the way that society eats, it is little wonder why more and more people appear to be developing food intolerances, not to mention other serious health issues such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

So what are some of the signs and symptoms of food intolerances?

Our body can let us know when a food does not agree with us by displaying symptoms such as:

• Mucus production

• Belching

• Bloating

• Vomiting

• Abdominal cramps

• Diarrhea, smelly sloppy or constipated stools

• Feeling sluggish, sleepy, lethargic or fuzzy

• Flushing of the skin and rashes

But what if other symptoms and conditions such as bad breath, fatigue, anxiousness or depression, irritability, low moods, headaches, heartburn and even itchy skin/eczema are all signs of our food intolerances?

We often dismiss these symptoms and conditions as just being normal, or just the way our bodies are. But what if this isn’t a normal way for our bodies to be? What if these symptoms and conditions could be eliminated by just choosing to eat differently?

When we reconnect with our bodies and take notice of the symptoms that we display after we eat particular foods, we can then begin the process of eliminating those foods which do not agree with our bodies and start to experience better health.

The foods that deliver the amazing flavours and textures that we seek are often highly processed and have very little nutritional value. These are the foods that seem to trigger physical symptoms as described above, however we still seem to love and crave them regardless of what our bodies are communicating to us.

We need to shift our focus from loving what we eat because of the way it tastes, regardless of the ill effects, to loving what we eat because of how it makes our bodies feel.

When we start to focus on our self-care and how good we feel without these particular foods, it becomes a little easier to eliminate them from our diets for good.

A great way to begin this process is to keep a food diary for a couple of weeks and record the physical symptoms that you experience after eating. Once you begin to identify the food culprits that do not agree with your body, eliminate them from your diet for several weeks to see if the symptoms disappear. You could also see a naturopath or a nutritionist who can provide you with professional advice and guidance with your diet.

So what are some of the food culprits to be aware of or look out for with regard to identifying possible food intolerances?

According to Healthline, the most common ones are:

• lactose (especially in children) and

• gluten (contained in wheat and other grains).

Other common ones include:

• dairy products (cheese and cows’ milk)

• eggs

• nuts

• soya products.

Any foods that contain additives, colourings and flavourings such as MSG (Monosodium glutamate) should also be avoided.

Be aware and prepared though as the process of eliminating the foods we love from our diet is not always an easy one. It can bring up all kinds of emotions for us as it can expose what we have been using them for - to bury our feelings and levels of awareness we have about ourselves, others and the world around us.

We learn from a young age that we can momentarily quell the disturbance that we feel in our bodies when we have undealt with hurts and emotions with food. For example, after a relationship break up, how often do we turn to our comfort foods such as ice cream or chocolate to dull the pain? Our relationship with food is no longer about nourishing and caring for our bodies, it has become a way of experiencing moments of pleasure, often at the detriment to our health, in order to mask what is truly going on inside.

Could our food intolerances then be a natural way for our bodies to tell us that certain foods, often the foods we turn to for comfort, are not required and in their absence we can achieve greater levels of health?

Dulling our awareness and our feelings with food only buries our issues deeper rather than resolve them. Therefore, we should see our food intolerances not as a hindrance, but as a wakeup call to stop living the way we have been living, reconnect to our bodies and begin to address our issues and our relationship with food in order to truly move on and evolve.

Although addressing our food intolerances through the elimination of foods that are not supporting our bodies won’t necessarily be an easy process to undertake, the reward could be, not only a symptom free body and a healthier relationship with food, but the achievement of true vitality, health and wellbeing through living in a way that puts the care of ourselves at the centre of all that we do.

Further reading/articles:

http://www.unimedliving.com/food/gluten-free/what-is-gluten-sensitivity.html

http://www.unimedliving.com/food/food-culture/food-allergies-and-intolerances-empowered-or-imprisoned.html

http://www.unimedliving.com/self-care/the-way-to-self-care/your-body-tells-the-truth.html

References:

https://imupro.com.au/how-do-food-intolerances-develop/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-food-intolerances