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One of the main reasons that people give up wheat is because they discover – or suspect – that they have an intolerance to it. The exact cause of food intolerance is as yet unclear. However, repeated over-consumption of a particular food undoubtedly plays a central part in its development – hence the most common culprits in food intolerance are wheat, dairy produce, yeast and sugar.

Food intolerance can cause a myriad of symptoms and although they are usually mild at first, they often gradually worsen over the years. This list below outlines some of the most common symptoms of wheat intolerance:

• A bloated stomach

• Regular flatulence (gas) or indigestion

• Diarrhoea or constipation for no apparent reason

• Fluid retention

• Grogginess on waking in the morning

• Feeling permanently tired

• Brain fog or sleepiness after eating a wheat-filled snack or meal

• Headaches

• Aches and pains for no apparent reason

• Skin conditions

• A craving for foods containing wheat

• Fluctuating weight despite having a very healthy diet, exercising regularly and drinking plenty of water

Food intolerance is notoriously difficult to detect because the reaction to the offending food is slow and symptoms are not felt for a few days. It is therefore not easy to connect the offending food to the symptoms it causes. Also, given that the culprit food is usually one that we eat very regularly, the symptoms can be on-going and we often attribute them to something completely different, such as stress. There are certain conditions that are now strongly linked to food intolerance; in particular an intolerance to wheat or dairy. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prime example – when wheat is removed from the diet the condition often improves dramatically or clears up completely.

There are various tests available for food intolerance, though generally these should be treated with caution, as many of them are unreliable. Your doctor will be able to arrange for you to see a qualified nutritionist who can oversee accurate tests for food intolerance but this is not a service provided on the NHS in the UK and it can be expensive. The only alternative is to eliminate the suspect food from your diet completely for a period of five weeks and monitor the results. If, on reintroducing the food, your symptoms reoccur then this will prove your guess was correct. However, please make sure that you always consult your doctor, as some symptoms can be indicative of a medical problem.

If you suffer from many of the symptoms outlined here after eating wheat then you should notice a huge difference if you avoid it for about a month. You should feel energized and clear-headed, rather than exhausted and under par. Do be aware, though, that one of the quirks of food intolerance is that sufferers often crave the offending food and can experience withdrawal symptoms for a short period when the particular food is removed from the diet. However, these symptoms usually pass relatively quickly.

The good news is that food intolerance, unlike food allergy, is not for life. By avoiding the culprit food for a period, most people find that they can tolerate it occasionally, although problems will generally resurface if it is eaten on a regular basis. Unadulterated organic wheat flour or Spelt can sometimes be eaten by people with mild wheat intolerance – because all the original goodness and fibre is still there – but I have not used these ingredients in the recipes as this does not apply to everyone and such breads and pastas can be purchased from good health food shops.

There is a real difference between food intolerance and food allergy: Whereas an intolerance causes delayed symptoms, an allergy usually produces an immediate and often extreme physical reaction to the offending substance or food. This is a result of the speed of the immune system’s reaction to the allergen. In some instances the response can be so severe that it results in anaphylactic shock. Thankfully, despite the publicity given to such cases, they are rare and food allergy itself is far more rare than food intolerance. Those with a severe wheat allergy should look out for the * symbol in the recipe, as this indicates a product that may contain a very small amount of gluten – and the source of that gluten could be wheat.

Unfortunately allergies are very often life-long, as is coeliac disease. In this serious condition, the lining of the colon wall is affected by gluten (found in certain grains such as rye, barley and oats), which causes malabsorption of nutrients, severe pain and symptoms such as diarrhoea. (As mentioned above, any ingredient that could contain gluten is marked with an asterisk and coeliacs should ensure the product they use is gluten free.) The test for coeliac disease is a straightforward one but there are certain people who, although they have tested negative, still find they feel much better if they eliminate gluten from their diet.