Ever eaten something which you body didn't really agree with?! Well, everyone at some point has, but the very moment stomach issues occur a little more frequent and becomes severe, this might actually be a sign of a bigger digestion issue called food intolerance. Food intolerances occurs more often as one gets old. Looking at the fact that the human digestion naturally becomes slower thus causing the body to produce fewer enzymes which are required for the breaking down of food. This slow down allows more time for the bacteria to ferment in the GI tract thereby leading to digestive distress.
Over some period of time, one might actually become quite sensitive to some particular foods, additives and chemicals. Sulfites which are found in wine and canned goods, dried fruits, or foods which are flavored with monosodium glutamate are some good examples. However, the most popular food sensitivities are gluten and lactose. With lactose intolerance, your body would not be able to break down the sugar lactose which is in dairy products due to the fact that your gut contains a reduced levels of the intestinal enzyme lactase. While people living with gluten sensitivity would have issues digesting gluten, the protein found in rye, wheat and barley.
Track possible food intolerance with a food diary
Food intolerance has quite a number of symptoms and they include cramps, stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea. but it may also involve other issues such as headaches, vomiting, heartburn, nervousness or irritability. Food intolerance often is very tricky to diagnose due to the fact that one might just be able to eat just a little amount of a problem food without having any reaction. Symptoms of food intolerance might only appear just after you have eaten a very large portion of food, or frequently eat it. The very best one can identify a problem foods is with a food diary. Pick a book and a pen, then write down what you eat for every meal, this should include individual foods and portions. Thereafter, you should list down any symptom which might occur afterwards and rate their level of intensity using a scale of one (1) to ten (10), with one (1) being no reaction to ten (10) being the most severe.
After you must have gotten down your food diary, it's time to maintain your diary, try to maintain it for about two weeks to a month, and then take a review. Once you've been able to do this, then you should be able to find a link between foods and those common symptoms.
Easing the discomfort of food intolerance
Once you been able to point out one, or perhaps several potential problem foods, you can now strive to eliminate them from your diet. After some few days, you can add only one food into your diet and then properly monitor the way your body reacts to it. Perhaps your symptoms return, then you have been able to pinpoint the offending food.
Being able to eliminate the problem food from your diet is one of the easiest move, but let's take a look at some of the other strategies which could be considerd:
Reduce serving sizes
It's often, but you can still enjoy your favorite foods just by reducing the amount. Let's say for instance, someone has a food intolerance of excess fructose, you might just discover that a half-cup of fruit might not bring about any problems.Make adjustments
Food intolerance might just be a cumulative effect. let's take for instance, pizza might just cause you problems, but it might be the result of certain ingredients or combinations. You just might be able to tolerate the rice and beans separately, but together they could create the perfect storm. Try to eliminate some specific ingredients once at a time, and then carry out some experiment with eliminating certain combinations till you are able to find the right balance.
Additionally, if the problem food is a source of vital nutrients, make sure you are able to find an adequate replacement.