Are You Dealing With Food Intolerance Symptoms?

After enjoying a meal, someone may start to feel uncomfortable-specifically with one of the following...

Pain in the stomachOutbreaks of windNauseaBloatingVomitingIndigestionDiarrheaSudden irritabilityWeight gain

The cause may be a food intolerance which is a response from the digestive system to a specific food; an ingredient in the food irritates the digestive system and the person is unable to digest and breakdown the food properly. One of the most common food intolerances is dairy intolerance which means an individual experiences the symptoms above when they eat milk or dairy products. Dairy intolerance affects approximately 10% of the population. Gluten intolerance is also common-as is wheat intolerance. Gluten intolerance symptoms and wheat intolerance symptoms include 'typical' food intolerance symptoms. But it may not be those foods that are causing the problem...it could be the nori seaweed or the Lindseed you have everyday because it is 'healthy'

Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerance

Many people confuse food allergies with a food intolerance-and vice versa. Typically, the symptoms from a food allergy are more severe and can include the symptoms above plus:
HivesRashesIrritated skinDifficulty breathingChest painAnaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction)

Sometimes, the cause of digestive difficulties can be food poisoning caused by eating food that has not been cooked properly or is well past its 'use by' date. However, a food allergy creates a reaction in the immune system and can affect organs-meaning a food allergy can be life-threatening.

When a person is experiencing digestive discomfort or other gluten intolerance symptoms, it's wise to visit a medical professional. At the clinic or surgery, the doctor or physician's assistant will begin a series of tests to determine if the problem is linked to food poisoning, a food allergy or a food intolerance. One method of diagnosis is eliminating 'suspect' foods from the diet and keeping a food diary. While this diagnostic method can work, it can take several weeks, or even months, to pinpoint the 'offending' food or additives.

Another method is to take a series of tests. Patients can take a test for allergies or intolerances.The tests are broad at first then become more specific: the first step is a test that determines if there's an intolerance present to the most common foods. If this test comes back positive, then it's possible to pinpoint one of almost 300 foods or additives that may be causing the problems. The tests are easy to administer and produce very specific results. Here's how it works.

The patient takes a test for food intolerance. It comes back positive.A more specific test reveals the patient is not only intolerant to fish but reveals which fish.The patient eliminates salmon from their diet and can enjoy other types of fish.

Certain tests can determine the severity of the intolerance. And testing may come back negative.

Once testing is complete, the next step for the patient is to eliminate the problem foods from their diet. The results can be immediate and dramatic: the patient enjoys a better quality of life free from the discomforts associated with food intolerance and food allergies.

Julie Goyen is the Managing Director of ImuPro Australia & New Zealand, which provides testing products for the diagnosis of food intolerances and food allergies.

Original article

Lactose Intolerance and Lactose Free Information for Lifestyle Improvement

The effect of lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance has been linked to many physical symptoms. For many people, it may be the insidious and almost un-noticed lethargy or weight gain. Others suffer from crippling migraines and "autoimmune" type symptoms that can adversely affect your lifestyle.

Some research has linked dairy to prostate cancer, breast cancer, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

Dairy and dairy products are completely safe for most people, but for others, it can be a silent (or not so silent) destroyer of a quality lifestyle.

It might be worth checking out to see if a dairy-free or dairy-limited diet improves your quality of life. By limiting your Dairy intake for a short time, there may be no reaction, or no change, and you can go back to your normal diet. On the other hand, if your migraines disappear, your cholesterol drops, your blood pressure stablises, your energy increases, your body seems lighter, your stomach calms down, and if you just FEEL BETTER, that might be telling you something.

Have you considered going Dairy-Free?

I thought that it was just one of those fads that seemed to be popular and typical of what New-Age, Natural therapies gurus were promoting.

That is until a couple of health issues that had been lurking in my background started to surface. That's when going Dairy-Free (and gluten-free) was suggested to me. Taking the, "Well it's worth a try approach" I decided to remove Dairy and Gluten from my diet.

The effect was almost immediate. The excess weight came off without effort, my blood pressure (which was being slightly improved by medication) fell to, and maintained a good level and I had a general sense of feeling better.

After a time, when I reintroduced some small amounts of Dairy, I began to feel small amounts of abdominal discomfort. Apparently over the years I had been experiencing this discomfort, but did not recognize that it was potentially the result of a small degree of lactose intolerance. Now, after a short period of not having that discomfort, I notice that soon after eating or drinking dairy products it returns. That discomfort is not debilitating, but it is noticeable, and I suspect a result of lactose intolerance.

Lactose intolerance is not something that everyone has to live with, but if going dairy-free for a short time indicates that it may be affecting you then it is worth having it checked out.

Before making any substantial changes to your diet it is advised that you consult with your trusted health professional.

Neville Dinning is a researcher and educator with an interest in Lactose Intolerance. For more great lactose free information, visit and download the free report at http://lactosefreenow.com/.

Original article

Lactose Intolerance Details

A normal function of the digestive system is to break down the food we eat into smaller pieces. This is achieved with the use of enzymes that are present in our saliva, stomach and intestines. This process of breaking down the food aids the body in absorbing essential nutrients, proteins and carbohydrates.

One such enzyme is called lactase. This enzyme is needed to breakdown lactose, which is the sugar in milk. Lactose is actually made up of two different sugars, which are chemically joined together. One separated, these sugars, which are called glucose and galaxies, can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Lactase enzymes are generally found in the jejunum, which in normal terms is the beginning of the small intestine. These enzymes perform but one function - breaking down lactose.

People with a condition known as lactose intolerance have a shortage of the enzyme lactase. As there is a shortage of lactase, the digestive system is unable to properly separate these sugars, which effectively means that some milk remains undigested inside the intestines, causing discomfort, bloating, wind and even diarrhea. Lactose intolerance is said to be among the most common disorders in the world, with nearly 50% of all humans developing some degree of intolerance at some point in their lives.

Although one of the most important nutrients for infants, supplying up to half of the total energy requirement of a newborn baby, it is believed that lactose has no special function or importance for adults. This had led some people to suggest that humans were never designed to drink milk after being weaned.

Many babies suffer from sensitivity to lactose at one time or another, and are subsequently given lactose free formula. Due to the importance of lactose in the supply of energy to infants, any newborn baby that is fed using a lactose free formula must also receive extra energy to replace that lost by the omission of lactose in the lactose free formula.

Lactose has excellent physiological properties such as good texture and an ability to bind water. For this reason it is used extensively in the food industry and can be found in bread, sausages, and even sweets. The next time you are in the supermarket, stop and read the ingredients in the sweets aisle. I'm sure you'll see many products containing lactose.

For this reason people with intolerance to lactose must be very selective in their diet as lactose is found in some of the most unlikely foods.

There have been some scientific studies carried out in search of a treatment for sensitivity to lactose, however to date these treatments vary in effectiveness from patient to patient and no definite solution has been discovered.

Lactose Intolerance is claimed to be the most common human genetic disorder, supposedly affecting more than half the worlds population. This said, perhaps it is normal for people to be lactose intolerant!

In light of the increased awareness of this condition, there are now a number of lactose free formula available to ease the problems associated with lactose intolerance in babies.

Visit our site to find out more about the options available for lactose free formula today.

Original article

What You Need To Know About Wheat Intolerance

There are people who have wheat intolerance due to the allergic reaction that occurs when wheat is introduced in the diet. More often than not, it can be seen as early as childhood when a baby categorically becomes sick when eating foods with wheat or drinking wheat - based fluids. However, wheat intolerance is not generally considered as a form of allergic reaction to wheat. It is usually not associated to sudden appearance of allergic reactions which can be attributed to other factors since there are certain underlying conditions that can define the true range of the intolerance to wheat products.

According to statistics, at least one out of seven individuals can experience wheat intolerance. Since the symptoms for this condition varies a lot and may manifest several days after consuming the product, proper diagnosis can be difficult. Technically speaking, wheat intolerance is basically an allergic response to wheat based products. However, there or other parts of the immune system that can be involved other than what are affected when true wheat allergies manifest. Some of the symptoms for wheat intolerance are comparable with mastisis symptoms although among the most common indication includes:

*Sudden headache, stomach cramping and bloating
*Diarrhea or constipation, flatulence,
*Chronic fatigue
*Arthritis
*Skin rashes
*Eczema
*Low resistance to infection among others.

The symptoms for wheat intolerance may start from mild flatulence to vomiting and severe stomach cramps. Even older people may develop intolerance to wheat because experts believe that the genetic makeup of human bodies do not evolve as fast as agricultural products do. Today, wheat production or often based on scientific methods in order to increase the harvests. Sometimes when the genetic structure of wheat is altered in order for farmers to shorten their waiting time before harvesting, the complex molecular structure of wheat is also altered making it difficult for some people to digest proteins from these agricultural products. There are cases wherein it spreads to other similar products like rye, barley, and oats.

There is no best treatment for recovering from wheat intolerance except avoiding the product altogether. However, depending on how serious the condition is, gradually introducing the wheat in the daily diets using small portions may help train the body to recognize the protein structure of wheat so that it can digest it. On the other hand, this is not recommended for those who serious intolerance to wheat because it can lead to a more serious condition when the symptoms become severe.

If you are suspecting your child to have wheat intolerance, the best way to find out is through food elimination diet. You can start a regimen of introducing certain food groups you suspect of causing the allergic reaction and eliminating it from the list once your suspicion is cleared. This will help you determine if a true wheat allergy is present or there are other types of food that cause the allergy. This way, you can avoid introducing wheat to your child's diet if your suspicion is confirmed that wheat intolerance is the cause of the allergic reaction.

Learn more about wheat intolerance and how to treat its symptoms. Find out about mastisis symptoms and how to deal with it properly.

Original article

Food Allergy and Food Intolerance Symptoms

Food allergy and food intolerance may cause certain of the matching symptoms, and as a result are often confused. Food intolerance is generally not as critical as food allergy indicators, and is usually confined in the digestive system. A real food allergy will cause an immune system reaction affecting numerous body organs, and so the problems could be grave and in many cases life-threatening. You will need to recognize the difference if you have a reaction to a particular food, because health danger and also the cure for each are going to be not the same.

A lot of people who believe they've got a food allergy to a particular food are experiencing food intolerance. Examples of this are the shortcoming to completely digest a food, such as instances of lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, food poison as a result of toxins, stress or psychological aspects, and frequent digestive condition triggered by eating gluten, a protein in wheat and other grains. Staying spot on to our theme of dietary worries, I would like to explore in-depth the region of sensitivity to food additives. Sulfites are sulfur based compounds that could appear naturally or be added to foods acting as an enhancer and preservative. The FDA estimates that one in 100 people is susceptible to this compound, although in my experience the numbers seem superior. This food intolerance can come about at any time, and its cause at this time is unknown.

Although sulfites are banned on fruits and vegetables that may be consumed uncooked, such as apples, they may still be found in various cooked and processed foods, and naturally in the manufacturing process of making beer and wine. The number two defense for those which possess a food intolerance to sulfite is avoiding foods which are prone to include sulfites is to read the labels on all food items, as rules at the moment necessitate manufacturers of their processed goods to register the compounds on their merchandise labels. We feel that the number one protection is avoiding processed foods entirely, and stick to an eating routine of fresh fruits and veggies. When checking labels, the sulfite-containing ingredients to seek will be sulfur dioxide, potassium bisulfate or metabisulfite, or sodium bisulfate, sodium metabisulfite, or sodium sulfite.

A food allergy is a more severe subject. It is definitely an adverse immune reaction to some food protein. In essence, the immune system mistakenly identifies these food proteins as harmful, triggering an allergic response. A food allergy might trigger a reaction which could range from mild to severe. They may affect the skin, frequently in the shape of hives, gastrointestinal, presenting itself in stomach ache and unsettled stomach, and the most crucial, that is cardiopulmonary, plus a food allergy may have an effect on the respiratory tract and blood circulation, which is called anaphylaxis. These conditions entail urgent medical attention. One of the most common sensitivities is to peanuts, a member of the bean group, and sometimes can be very severe. When you've got a recognized food allergy and are dining out, it will be a very good idea to let the waite personnel understand what that food allergy is.

Knowing how to distinguish concerning what are food allergy and food intolerance fare may help circumvent what can develop into a bad condition. Diet, that is being attentive to everything we consume, is not just significant for the way we appear but for our general health, and can have a major bearing not only on how long we exist but our quality of life. You should learn how to interpret labels, as not every food item on the market is truly harmless to consume.

Knowing what foods are good for you and those can cause problems can be a difficult task, so to avoid the confusion read Healthy Meal Plans that will relieve you of all the label-reading, and should you stick strictly to your diet or should you have a Diet Cheat Day? We have some ideas on what the best approach is. Rich Carroll is a writer and health advocate living in London.

Original article