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Identifying Common Food Intolerance Symptoms: Your Guide

by Donna Mastriani on Jun 08, 2024

Food intolerance and sensitivities are on the rise and affect many undiagnosed people worldwide. Unlike food allergies, food intolerance doesn't cause severe symptoms; sometimes, people overlook the IBS symptoms they suffer from, which are a sign of food intolerance. Food intolerance or sensitivity often means that your gut is sensitive to certain foods and can't tolerate them. It can also mean that you have insufficient enzymes to break down specific foods. When you eat foods, you’re intolerant to; you often experience symptoms like gas, diarrhoea, and bloating. Approximately 20% of people worldwide experience common food intolerance symptoms. Food intolerance can be difficult due to the wide range of symptoms.

What is food intolerance?

When you're suffering from food intolerance, symptoms often appear hours after eating that food. It may be hard to pin down the trigger food. It is common for symptoms to even appear three days after consuming the trigger food. Most times, symptoms of food intolerance disappear after you've passed that specific food. So, you may suffer from those symptoms until you've passed that food. It's even harder to pinpoint the trigger food when you consume it often. Typically, food breakdown and nutrient absorption occur in the small intestines. That's where food is broken down into molecules and absorbed into the blood. The small intestines are where enzymes are also produced to break down food. When you have a food intolerance, the food you are intolerant to isn’t broken down in the small intestine due to sensitivities or lack of sufficient enzymes to break down that food. Either way, when food isn't broken in the small intestines, it's passed to the colon. In the colon, undigested food gets water from the colon causing water retention. The bacteria in the colon also ferment this undigested food and causes gas production. That's why it's common to experience bloating and gassiness when you have a food intolerance. 20% of people experience food intolerance symptoms.

20% of people experience food intolerance symptoms.

When you have a food intolerance, you'll often experience uncomfortable symptoms that can affect the quality of your everyday life. Most people go undiagnosed and suffer from these symptoms often. However, getting an Intolerance Test can help you get ahead of what's causing you those symptoms to manage them.

What causes food intolerance symptoms

You suffer from food intolerance symptoms when your body doesn't make enough enzymes to break down specific foods. Other conditions can cause food intolerance; these include celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease ( like, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). Any diseases that affect the small intestines often result in food intolerance. That's because when you've tampered with the wall of the intestines, it can become easy for sensitivities to arise. We recommend you talk to your doctor first about the symptoms you're experiencing so that they can check for any underlying conditions. When you have underlying conditions resulting in food intolerance, treating that illness can help eliminate food intolerances. However, when your doctor proves there are no underlying conditions, you can get your food Intolerance Test and eliminate foods causing symptoms from your diet.

Common food intolerance symptom

When suffering from food intolerance, the severity of symptoms depends on how much of the trigger food you consume. The more you consume, the more severe your symptoms are. Common food intolerance symptoms can take a while to appear, with the onset of symptoms taking several hours to several days. Food intolerance symptoms can persist for a few days, making pinpointing the trigger food difficult. Common food intolerance symptoms include:

Abdominal pain
Bloating
Diarrhoea
Runny nose
Rashes
Nausea
Fatigue
Skin flushing
Headache
Business
Malaise
Migraine

Diagnosing food intolerances symptoms

The simplest way to diagnose the common food intolerance symptoms is by taking an Intolerance Test. You can order this test online and mail your sample to the labs for testing. This testing will check for all common food intolerances against your blood sample. This testing takes seven days to get results from the day your sample gets to the labs. You can work on an elimination diet when you have your intolerance test results. This means you'll remove all these foods that cause intolerance symptoms from your diet for a few weeks, then see how you feel. With the help of your doctor, you can reintroduce these foods to see how you feel, or you can decide to eliminate them. Reintroduction after an elimination period can also help you know how much food you can consume without getting symptoms. Doing so allows you to consume that specific food in minimal amounts to avoid food intolerance symptoms. Sometimes, you'll find that with some foods; symptoms will disappear and appear as soon as you reintroduce that food into your diet, no matter the amount. When you notice this, it's best to eliminate that food from your diet.

Treating common food intolerance symptoms

When you're already suffering from food intolerance symptoms, over-the-counter medications like antidiarrhoeals or antacids will help you depending on the symptoms you're suffering from. However, avoiding trigger foods is the best way to treat food intolerance. For example, if you're gluten intolerant, ensure you only consume products and meals free of gluten. However, people with lactose intolerance are luckier than most since they can take over-the-counter lactase pills. These pills offer enzymes necessary to break down milk sugar present in dairy products. When eliminating foods you're intolerant to, you need to check the main nutrients that food offers and find some other food that supplies you with the same nutrients. Doing this can prevent you from developing deficiencies.

Author: Donna Mastriani, S.N.H.S. Dip., Nutritionist / Care Manager

Donna has a diploma in Advanced Holistic Nutrition and 10 years customer service experience so is perfect as the Customer Care Manager, who manages the 24/7 team for global support.