Are you tired of constantly dealing with digestive issues, skin problems, and unexplained fatigue? If so, you’re not alone. I’ve worked with many clients in Cornwall and further afield, who are suffering from food intolerances and sensitivities, which can wreak havoc on their overall health and well-being. Identifying specific food triggers is crucial for nutritional therapists to provide targeted dietary advice and investigate potential causes for the reactions. From the frustration of not knowing what foods are triggering your symptoms to the freedom of being able to make informed dietary choices, we will delve into the gold standard for testing food intolerances and sensitivities, offering insights into the most effective and scientifically supported approaches so you can say goodbye to the discomfort and limitation that food intolerances and sensitivities impose.
Understanding food intolerances and sensitivities
Before we dive into testing methods, let’s clarify what food intolerances and sensitivities are. Unlike food allergies, which involve an immediate immune response, food intolerances and sensitivities typically manifest over a longer period of time.
Food Intolerance refers to difficulty digesting certain foods or components of food and does not affect the immune system. It occurs when the body lacks certain enzymes necessary for proper digestion, resulting in various symptoms. The most common example of food intolerance is lactose intolerance, where the body lacks the enzyme lactase to break down lactose, the sugar found in milk and dairy products. When someone with a food intolerance consumes the trigger food, they may experience symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and general discomfort. These symptoms typically manifest within a few hours or up to 48 hours after consuming the problem food.
Food sensitivity, on the other hand, involves a broader range of reactions to specific foods. It is a non-allergic immune response triggered by certain components in food. Unlike food allergies, which involve a specific immune response mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE), food sensitivities often result from other immune mechanisms, making them more challenging to identify. Food sensitivities can manifest as a wide array of symptoms, including digestive issues, headaches, migraines, skin problems, joint pain, fatigue, and mood disturbances. These symptoms may occur immediately after consuming the trigger food or have a delayed onset (up to 3 days!), making it challenging to pinpoint the exact culprit without proper testing or elimination diets. If the problematic food enters the bloodstream on a continuous basis, the immune system undergoes constant activation, leading to chronic inflammation.
It’s important to note that symptoms can vary greatly from person to person, making a personalised approach to testing important for successful management.
The challenges of identifying food intolerances and sensitivities
It can be incredibly challenging to navigate food intolerances and sensitivities. The process can be made a lot simpler by skipping expensive food intolerance testing and following the gold standard approach, which allows you to understand whether a food is actually causing you symptoms and whether it can be reintroduced later when inflammation has calmed down.
The gold standard: elimination diet with reintroduction
When it comes to identifying food intolerances and sensitivities, the gold standard is an elimination diet followed by systematic reintroduction. This method involves a structured approach to temporarily removing potential trigger foods from your diet, followed by a systematic reintroduction process to pinpoint specific culprits. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
- Elimination Phase: during the elimination phase, the individual removes that commonly contribute to intolerances and sensitivities. This typically includes gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, eggs and processed foods. It’s important to consult with a healthcare professional or a registered nutritionist to ensure the diet remains nutritionally balanced during this period.
- Reintroduction Phase: after a period of elimination (usually 2-4 weeks), the reintroduction phase begins. One food group is reintroduced at a time, and the individual carefully monitors their symptoms for any adverse reactions. This process is usually done over a few days, with a return to the elimination diet in between each reintroduction. It’s important to emphasise that elimination diets are designed to be used short-term, as long-term restriction can have negative health effects and impact gut microbiome diversity, causing other health issues.
- Observation and Documentation: during both the elimination and reintroduction phases, it’s essential to maintain a detailed food and symptom diary. This allows for a clear record of any reactions or improvements experienced during each phase. I’ve created a free food diary to help you track symptoms, which is available here.
- Professional Guidance: working with a registered nutritional therapist or healthcare professional throughout this process is highly recommended. To find a registered practitioner in Cornwall (or further afield) you can search here. They can provide expert guidance, support, and advice, helping you navigate the complexities of the elimination and reintroduction phases. For example if you have an Autoimmune diagnosis an Autoimmune Paleo diet may work for you or if you have digestive symptoms a low FODMAP diet may be more suitable. Elimination diets should be used with caution in weak individuals, those with acute illness, a history of disordered eating or an active eating disorder, and pregnant women. If you haven’t already done so you should discuss any symptom concerns with your GP, as it can be helpful to rule out allergies.
Other Testing Methods:
While the elimination diet with reintroduction is considered the gold standard, several other testing methods can aid in identifying food intolerances. These include:
- Finger-prick IgG test: IgG finger-prick blood tests measure the levels of specific IgG antibodies produced in response to certain problem foods i.e. testing for food sensitivities. However, their clinical utility and reliability are a subject of debate among experts, as IgG antibodies are also present in individuals without food sensitivities. Often foods that you eat a lot of can cause high levels of antibodies, even if they are not problem foods, meaning you may remove them from your diet unnecessarily and miss out on the important nutrients they are providing. Leaky gut and other gut imbalances can cause IgG levels to go up so results must always be interpreted in the context of your symptoms. Results can be used to create a tailored elimination diet.
- Kinesiology, hair analysis and vega testing: these tests are promoted online as a means to diagnose food intolerances, but there’s no/limited evidence to support their validity.
Can you overcome food intolerances and sensitivities?
In many cases, food intolerances and sensitivities are caused by an imbalanced gut, and therefore, getting to the root cause of these imbalances and addressing and restoring gut function can help you enjoy these problematic foods again. In my clinic I’ve seen it happen many times although, it’s not always possible.
Taking steps towards freedom from food intolerances and sensitivities
When it comes to testing food intolerances, the gold standard is undoubtedly the elimination diet with systematic reintroduction. This method allows for a personalised understanding of how specific foods affect an individual’s well-being. While other testing methods exist, it’s important to approach them with caution and rely on the expertise of registered nutritional therapists or healthcare professionals. Remember, accurate testing is the first step towards tailored dietary advice and better management of food intolerances, helping individuals regain control over their health and vitality.
What to do next…
If you think you may have a food intolerance or any associated health issues, I believe it’s not just a case of removing the problem foods. We need to establish why you developed the intolerance in the first place. It can be difficult to do this alone and that’s why people go to see a nutritionist. If you’d like to start digging into the root cause(s) of your symptoms together and work with me 1:1 you can book in a free no obligation discovery call now by clicking here.