Food Intolerance
September 13, 2008 – 3:26 pmWelcome back!
Are You Plagued By Food Intolerance?
Do you ever have an upset stomach or headaches that won’t go away? It could be a food intolerance that you are not aware of. Food intolerance is like a food allergy because your body has a reaction to something you ate.
The body thinks of the food as an invader and floods the system with antibodies. Food intolerance can develop at any age. People that have celiac disease (CD) suffer slowly while the lining of the small intestines becomes less able to absorb nutrition from food. Peter H.R. Green, MD says that it takes an average of 11 years to diagnose celiac disease.
There are estimated about 2 million Americans that have CD, which is from gluten. It is the protein that is found in many grains but not oats. However, sometimes oats can be contaminated by residues from other grains.
The symptoms of CD are anywhere from constipation to diarrhea. And, there can also be problems with weight loss or weight gain. Suffers can be prone to autoimmune disorders. A simple blood test can tell you whether you have CD or not. If the blood test is positive, a sampling of intestinal tissue can be used to confirm the diagnosis. Another important thing is that CD is hereditary so patients should encourage their family to be tested also. Between 5 to 15 percent of family members will also test positive.
The best way to not suffer is to eliminate gluten from your diet altogether. You have to carefully read labels on items before you buy them because gluten hides in many places. Probably one of the places most people don’t realize is that gluten can be found in stamp adhesive.
Besides gluten intolerance, the other most common problem is lactose intolerance. About 70 percent of adults develop lactose intolerance. It actually originates from an enzyme deficiency that tends to get worse with age. If the body lacks sufficient lactase, then undigested lactose ferments can enter the digestive system and perhaps the bloodstream. This type of intolerance causes diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes cramps and bloating right after eating. If you have the full-blown lactose intolerance it causes itchy rashes, vomiting, and hives.
A good way to both diagnose and cure lactose intolerance is cutting dairy out completely. But there are some dairy products that can be ok to eat and not cause you problems. Yogurt and aged cheese are examples; in the process of making them the lactose gets consumed. Like gluten, lactose is in products that may surprise you; so you just have to check the labels. If you have any of these intolerances, you have two options: 1) stay away from the products that contain them; 2) Supplement your diet with multiple purpose digestive enzyme formulas. When you take plant enzymes with meals, they help your body digest most foods easily so you can get the vital nutrients you need from the food consumed. Since you can get these at any age once you have them you may never outgrow them.
The FDA hasn’t evaluated these statements. This page is presented for educational purposes only. You accept full responsibility for any action you take after reading this post.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!