Make friends with the right food
If you are one of the thousands of people who suffer from allergies, what you eat could be making you ill
Although many doctors dismiss food allergy symptoms as mainly in the mind, it is thought that up to 40 per cent of people are sufferers with two per cent to the degree of a potentially fatal allergy.
For those suffering from food intolerance with less severe symptoms it can be difficult to get help. They are often dismissed as faddy or even worse that their symptoms are all in the mind. This lack of understanding adds to their distress and with stress undoubtedly impacting on health, it can make their symptoms worse.
Nutritionist Patrick Holford, co-author with James Braly of Hidden Food Allergies, agrees. "Allergies and intolerances have an adverse effect on health and the potential to tip them over into chronic problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, chronic fatigue or asthma."
He estimates that as many as one in five people show an allergic reaction to wheat or milk products. Symptoms include headaches, fatigue, facial puffiness, itching, eczema, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and joint aches.
He identifies cow's milk as consistently the most common food allergen and points out that milk protein is hidden in all sorts of food from bread and cereals to packaged food and crisps.
Once diagnosed, most food intolerances ? as opposed to permanent allergies ? can be grown out of and reversed.
Avoiding a food to which you are sensitive for three to four months will allow the system to become more tolerant and you may not react allergically once it's reintroduced.
An allergy occurs when the body believes an ingredient in food is harmful and quickly produces antibodies to protect itself.
Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rashes, facial swelling and breathing difficulties. In some cases that reaction can be life threatening.
Food intolerance affects the digestive system and symptoms take longer to manifest and are not as severe. They can include bloating, indigestion, lethargy, migraines and rashes.
The most common allergy-producing food substances are dairy products, yeast, eggs and grains, especially wheat.
Others include garlic, a range of nuts including cashew, brazil, almond and peanuts, soya beans, oats, lentils, kiwi fruit, chilli pepper, sesame or sunflower seeds.
Dr Holford says people who are worried about their symptoms should seek professional help to discount symptoms of other illnesses and initially request a test to identify allergies from their GP.
Alternatively, several companies will scientifically analyse blood taken for a home test.
Your instant allergy check
If you answer yes to any of these questions there's a real possibility that you have an allergy or an intolerance. If you score four or more yes answers it's pretty much guaranteed.
• Are you chronically tired?
• Can you gain weight in hours?
• Do you get bloated after eating?
• Do you suffer from diarrhoea or constipation?
• Do you suffer from abdominal pain?
• Do you sometimes get really sleepy after eating?
• Do you suffer from nasal congestion, sneezing, running nose etc?
• Do you suffer from rashes, itches, asthma or shortness of breath?
• Do you have recurrent colds or sinus, problems?
• Do you suffer from water retention?
• Do you suffer from headaches or migraines?
• Do you suffer from other aches or pains from time to time, possibly after certain foods?
• Do you suffer from "brain fog" or patches of inexplicable depression?
• Do you get better on holidays abroad, when your diet is completely different?
Minimise your allergy potential
• Eliminate your food allergens.
• Follow a three- or four-day rotation diet so you're not eating the same foods daily.
• Minimize wheat and milk products even if you're not allergic.
• Have a large mixed salad daily plus at least three portions of vegetables and three pieces of fruit.
• Eat at least 10mg of quercetin each day from foods such as red onions, apples and berries, or take a supplement.
• Eat unfried, unbreaded oily fish such as mackerel, sardines or wild or organic salmon three times a week.
• Eat ground flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds and use flaxseed oil in salad dressings.
• Drink eight glasses of water or herbal teas every day.
For those suffering from food intolerance with less severe symptoms it can be difficult to get help. They are often dismissed as faddy or even worse that their symptoms are all in the mind. This lack of understanding adds to their distress and with stress undoubtedly impacting on health, it can make their symptoms worse.
Nutritionist Patrick Holford, co-author with James Braly of Hidden Food Allergies, agrees. "Allergies and intolerances have an adverse effect on health and the potential to tip them over into chronic problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, chronic fatigue or asthma."
He estimates that as many as one in five people show an allergic reaction to wheat or milk products. Symptoms include headaches, fatigue, facial puffiness, itching, eczema, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and joint aches.
He identifies cow's milk as consistently the most common food allergen and points out that milk protein is hidden in all sorts of food from bread and cereals to packaged food and crisps.
Once diagnosed, most food intolerances ? as opposed to permanent allergies ? can be grown out of and reversed.
Avoiding a food to which you are sensitive for three to four months will allow the system to become more tolerant and you may not react allergically once it's reintroduced.
An allergy occurs when the body believes an ingredient in food is harmful and quickly produces antibodies to protect itself.
Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rashes, facial swelling and breathing difficulties. In some cases that reaction can be life threatening.
Food intolerance affects the digestive system and symptoms take longer to manifest and are not as severe. They can include bloating, indigestion, lethargy, migraines and rashes.
The most common allergy-producing food substances are dairy products, yeast, eggs and grains, especially wheat.
Others include garlic, a range of nuts including cashew, brazil, almond and peanuts, soya beans, oats, lentils, kiwi fruit, chilli pepper, sesame or sunflower seeds.
Dr Holford says people who are worried about their symptoms should seek professional help to discount symptoms of other illnesses and initially request a test to identify allergies from their GP.
Alternatively, several companies will scientifically analyse blood taken for a home test.
Your instant allergy check
If you answer yes to any of these questions there's a real possibility that you have an allergy or an intolerance. If you score four or more yes answers it's pretty much guaranteed.
• Are you chronically tired?
• Can you gain weight in hours?
• Do you get bloated after eating?
• Do you suffer from diarrhoea or constipation?
• Do you suffer from abdominal pain?
• Do you sometimes get really sleepy after eating?
• Do you suffer from nasal congestion, sneezing, running nose etc?
• Do you suffer from rashes, itches, asthma or shortness of breath?
• Do you have recurrent colds or sinus, problems?
• Do you suffer from water retention?
• Do you suffer from headaches or migraines?
• Do you suffer from other aches or pains from time to time, possibly after certain foods?
• Do you suffer from "brain fog" or patches of inexplicable depression?
• Do you get better on holidays abroad, when your diet is completely different?
Minimise your allergy potential
• Eliminate your food allergens.
• Follow a three- or four-day rotation diet so you're not eating the same foods daily.
• Minimize wheat and milk products even if you're not allergic.
• Have a large mixed salad daily plus at least three portions of vegetables and three pieces of fruit.
• Eat at least 10mg of quercetin each day from foods such as red onions, apples and berries, or take a supplement.
• Eat unfried, unbreaded oily fish such as mackerel, sardines or wild or organic salmon three times a week.
• Eat ground flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds and use flaxseed oil in salad dressings.
• Drink eight glasses of water or herbal teas every day.