Food intolerances

Is your diet making you ill? A food intolerance test in London with Future Health Management will provide the answer

In the UK, around two million people suffer from some sort of food intolerance or allergy. The good news is that there’s a simple, but smart, non-invasive and painless food intolerance test that can determine what part of your diet is having an adverse effect on your health.

First, let’s look at the symptoms. The most common are bloating, constipation, weight loss, migraines, fat malabsorption and diarrhoea. In severe cases, food intolerance can lead to anaemia and vitamin D deficiency.

The cause of food intolerance is the immune system identifying certain constituents as foreign invaders. It can happen at any stage of your life but, usually, it kicks off if you start to eat more fast food or get into bad habits.

Common food intolerances

Wheat is one of the most common culprits. One of the main reasons is that most of the bread we eat today has far more preservatives, such as:

Calcium propionate for a longer shelf life
Amylase
Chlorine dioxide, which bleaches the flour
L-cysteine hydrochloride – E920, used to make the dough more elastic

All the above help to keep the bread soft, white and light. Traditional bread is just made from flour, yeast, salt and water. This is much better for you but doesn’t keep as well.

A key source of intolerance is gluten. This is due to a process called hybridisation of the wheat which adds new proteins. It can cause systemic inflammation and higher rates of celiac disease. Also, we eat far more gluten today than our ancestors did, as wheat is often found in fast food and prepared foods.

Examples of other common causes of intolerances are chocolate, strawberries, dairy products, nuts and food additives, such as nitrates in processed meats.

Food intolerance test

You can keep a food diary to identify which foods are causing a problem. However, this is a lengthy process and requires diligence and patience.

At Future Health Management I use a number of food intolerance tests and biofeedback therapy in London, with full support once the results come in. There are a variety of tests available for identifying intolerances. However, I usually suggest an ALCAT test. It involves taking a blood sample – I realise some people are squeamish about needles – but it does give a good indication of what foods may be making you ill. It takes about 14 days to get the test results which show four sensitivity levels – severe, moderate, mild and acceptable. The programme offers a diet to follow according to a four-day cycle. This rotation helps to optimise your eating habits and to give the body a rest.

Alternatively, there is biofeedback therapy. This is a simple, smart and on-invasive option, in other words, needle-free. The machine has an accuracy rate of 98% and results come within 60-90 minutes. It works by scanning and measuring the body’s organs and tissues for their frequency energy levels and identifies how each food reacts with the digestive system. Once the scan is complete, I can then tailor a nutritional plan to suit.

Banishing the culprits

Ideally, you need to cut out the affected foods from your diet for three to six months and then try reintroducing them one at a time to see if thee are any issues. Finding substitutes can be difficult. The good news is that the food intolerance issue is more widely recognised and stores increasingly gave gluten-free sections.

As a naturopathic nutritionist, I help clients to find the diet that works for them. It might just be simply cutting portion sizes. For example, if fructose is a problem, having half a cup of fruit juice may not affect you quite as severely as having a full cup.

The important thing to remember is, if you are excluding things from your diet, you have to replace them via other avenues. So, if wheat is causing a problem, then it’s important to swap it for another fibre-containing food, such as buckwheat or brown, gluten-free bread. Similarly, with dairy, you need to go for alternatives that will keep up your calcium levels, i.e. almond or coconut milk.

If you would like to find out more about a food intolerance test in London, then please feel free to contact me hello@futurehealthmanagement.co.uk

Did you know that food intolerance's can reduce your productivity and energy levels in the workplace?

Common causes

Common causes of workplace absenteeism are fatigue, migraines, anxiety, depression, IBS symptoms and nausea. Two in five have taken time off or reduced their responsibilities due to these symptoms.

In many cases these symptoms are linked to food intolerance's, but sufferers may not be aware that it’s their diet that is to blame. The problem is that food intolerance is not something you are born with, it can develop at a later stage of your life. Also, the effects can last for days, which is why it’s difficult to pinpoint which food is the culprit – keeping a food diary can help but, but it can take a long time and a lot of patience to figure it out.

Repair work for better health

When you’ve had food intolerance's, you have to do some repair work after the offending foods have been banished from the diet to give the body a chance to reduce inflammation. This is where naturopathy works well in getting these individuals back on track.

While the NHS does a great job, it doesn’t take a preventative approach to food intolerance. It focuses on alleviating the symptoms, not dealing with the root cause like naturopathy would.

The Naturopathic approach

The naturopathic approach involves testing to find out exactly what foods are bad for your health and eliminating them for three-six months. Then you take one at a time, testing it at least twice or three times on a day, then use a four-day rotation method. Sometimes digestive enzymes are given to remove the burden on the digestive system.

In the ten years that I have been practising, I have seen many people with an array of intolerance's and it’s a joy to see their faces, when they start feeling so much better.

Do contact me for further information at hello@futurehealthmanagement.co.uk

Food intolerance test London