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ОглавлениеWhy Are Food Intolerances So Common?
This chapter will tell you about the reasons why food intolerances exist and why you may have one or more of them. You will find out how you can address your food intolerance and its underlying causes.
You have learned that at least 45 per cent of the whole population has at least one food intolerance. Other researchers believe that this figure is as high as 80 per cent. So why does this happen? Were we not designed to eat certain foods? Are more people intolerant to foods today than they were in the past?
First, let’s review the most common causes of food intolerance. These causes may well be cumulative, may well co-exist and therefore may be synergistic in the cause of your food intolerance(s). Over the next few chapters we will look in detail at each of these causes.
eating too much of the same food too often (this chapter)
food additives, preservatives, colouring agents and flavour enhancers (this chapter)
eating too quickly (Chapter 4)
maldigestion (low stomach acid levels, low levels of pancreatic enzymes) (Chapter 4)
imbalanced intestinal ecology: an overgrowth of yeast, bacteria or parasites (Chapters 5, 6 and 7)
prescription and over-the-counter drugs (Chapter 8)
weak intestinal immunity and improved hygiene (Chapter 9)
excess stress (Chapter 10).
The above list will have relevance to some people but not to others. For those of you for whom these factors are relevant, it is vital to address them in order to escape a vicious cycle involving food intolerances. I have had many patients tell me that they have followed an elimination diet to improve their symptoms. However, the reason they have come to see me is that, while the diet worked for a number of months, they ultimately ended up with the same symptoms, in spite of continuing to avoid the original culprit foods. Upon retesting we have learned that these patients were now suffering from new food intolerances. What is going on here is that the underlying causes are continuing to cause problems. In this way, food intolerance can be ‘upstream’ of a number of other problems – though it is worth bearing in mind that it can be ‘downstream’ as well.
This is the primary reason why you need to be aware of the associated and underlying causes of food intolerance. To help you to determine which of the seven most common causes of food intolerance may be relevant to you, each will be discussed in turn – where appropriate, questionnaires are provided to narrow down the potential culprits.
The diagram above shows the various factors that can contribute to food intolerance. Often there is one cause that you need to address.
Eating Too Much of the Same Food Too Often
Of the estimated 195,000 edible plants on the planet, we tend, in the Western world, to obtain most of our calories from fewer than 20 foods. Indeed, most people tend eat the same 10 foods every day (and this would most likely include wheat and dairy products). This predisposes you to having an altered immune reactivity to these foods. It also means that the variety of nutrients you derive from food will also be limited, which may have other effects on your health.
A simple seven-day food diary would highlight whether you are eating a predominance of only a handful of foods. Simply list the foods you eat every day for a whole week, and then check your list for the number of different food groups – for example, don’t forget that most breakfast cereals, bread and pasta are all made from wheat. The higher the number of foods you eat in a typical week the better, and the more variety you have, the better. If you can identify that two or three foods comprise the bulk of your caloric intake, then these need to be suspected as possible culprits. You then have the option of eliminating these foods for a trial period and monitoring your symptoms.
You could also compare, as you may already have done, your typical food intake with the list of Usual Suspects, and especially the top five on that list.
Particularly if you have digestive symptoms, you should also follow the Digestive Support Plan for at least one month.
Food Additives, Preservatives, Colouring Agents and Flavour Enhancers
It is believed that the relatively recent plethora of food additives, colourings and preservatives in our diet has increased the risk of our immune system reacting against them, and this has been shown in at least one formal research study. It is also the subject of the Feingold Diet, which was named after Dr Ben Feingold of San Francisco, who proposed that additives and other naturally-occurring chemicals in food cause hyperactivity and other problems in children.
The Feingold approach is well known in the nutritional arena. His approach of avoiding food additives can produce a dramatic difference in some children, and more moderate improvement in others. For example, the consumption of ‘yellow sunset’ colouring and tartrazine can have marked effects on some susceptible children’s behaviour, and therefore their avoidance can result in a total lack of such symptoms.
Feingold believed that the naturally-occurring chemicals in foods called salicylates, which are found in a wide array of foods, are also implicated in causing behavioural changes. However, it would appear that salicylates are not the lone culprit, because there are other offending agents at work, including solvent chemicals, that contribute to the children’s symptoms.
Since food additives and preservatives are found primarily in pre-prepared foods, it should be fairly easy to spot when you might be consuming these artificial additives. However, even foodstuffs such as bread can contain additives. Therefore, anything that comes in packaging potentially has something artificial added to it. Start checking your labels and choose as much food as you can that is in its whole and natural state.
It is possible to test for an intolerance to additives – see Appendix II for more information.
A Note on Salicylates
This book does not provide you with salicylate-free recipes, but they are free of all additives, colourings and preservatives, and should contribute in a positive way to reducing your risk of adverse immune reactions within your Gl tract. A list of foods containing salicylates is provided in Appendix V.
Relevant Tests: IWDL’s Additives FACTest
