What is Food Intolerance?
Food intolerance is much talked about topic these days as more and more people seem to have discovered this ailment after going through a self-diagnostic home food intolerance test. So, what exactly is food intolerance is all about? It's about the condition in which sometimes our bodies cannot tolerate the foods we eat. This is known as food intolerance. This happens when people consume food, they are sensitive to, their bodies have a negative reaction to it. These effects may show up right away or after some time in the form of moderate or severe symptoms, depending on the quantity of food consumed.
Food Intolerance is not Food Allergy
Food intolerance is mistaken as food allergy sometimes, but there's a big difference between the two as the former does not involve body's immune system but the latter causes a person's immune system to take the weight off and take notice. Food intolerance is also not related to consuming stale, contaminated or spoiled food as those foods cause food poisoning, not food intolerance. Food intolerance affects the digestive system of a person who ingests certain foods his body has negative reaction to. Given below are some common causes of food intolerance. Read on to know more about it.
As mentioned earlier, the inability to digest certain food items leads to food intolerance. This condition happens usually due to insufficient amounts of the chemicals or enzymes needed to digest a particular food. Lactose intolerance is probably the most common type of food intolerance found in many people. People who have this type of food intolerance do not have required ''lactase'' enzyme, which causes inability of their body to break down the lactose content in milk products.
Common Symptoms of Food Intolerance
Common symptoms of lactose intolerance include bowel irregularities, bloating, gas, and intestinal distress. Then there are people who cannot drink even a single alcoholic beverage because their body does not have enough “'alcohol dehydrogenase” enzyme. Their bodies cannot process alcohol and they may fall ill if they consume it. Processed food contains certain additives, preservatives, and flavor enhancers that cause food intolerance. Individuals consuming processed food often experience pain and fatigue due to these ingredients.
Who Suffers From Food Intolerance?
Any person can suffer from food intolerance and he/she may not even be aware of it! It is not limited to any particular group of people, though there are some factors that can determine if a person is suffering from this condition or not. It can be hereditary, and ethnicity can play a role in it too. That's why lactose intolerance affects 70-90% of Asian, Africa, Greek, and Native American populations, but only 10% northern and western Europeans suffer from lactose intolerance.
How is a diagnosis made?
One of the simpler and cost-effective ways is to take a home food intolerance test to obtain informative results which can be used to determine the correct diagnosis. Using this food test will help you to determine your food intolerance to different foods like cereals, eggs, and dairy products. When you discover you're sensitive to certain types of food, you can seek medical advice and/or take appropriate action.
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