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by Lisa Fuller

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Coping with food intolerance and allergies.

Most IBS sufferers will identify with the following, but is the cause really just stress or is it a food intolerance? The symptoms are particularly uncomfortable and can cause severe pain.
The list includes :-
A very bloated stomach.
Abdominal pains that are usually centered around the pelvic area.
Constipation or excessive diarrhoea.
Sweating and a raised temperature.
Occasionally palpitations.
Anxiety and sometimes depression.
Flatulence that can relieve symptoms.
Faintness.
Lack of appetite.
Migraine and other headaches.

Pinpointing the causes of these distressing symptoms can be risky. IBS can occur in people with a tendency to find it hard to deal with stress. For these reason many people suffer in silence for years before seeking medical help. In many cases the cause can be traced to an allergy to certain kinds of food. For some reason it is often the very foods that cause the problem that the sufferer finds almost irresistible.

Food intolerance and allergies is not the same thing, although the symptoms appear to be the same. An allergy can cause a severe reaction that causes obstruction to breathing and in the case of a peanut allergy, even death. Normally though the reaction is less severe. Allergies are caused when the bodies immune system wrongly identifies a substance as a threat to the immune system. It then produces antigens that poison the system.

Food intolerance is painful, debilitating and can last for days, even a week, before the particular food is finally ejected from the body. Unlike IBS, the person can lose weight while still appearing to have a seriously bloated stomach. Our digestive system is a miracle of nature. For each food group there is an enzyme that breaks the food down into a nutritious substance that powers the whole body. In certain individuals this particular enzyme, or a group of enzymes are damaged or even missing. The food passes into the stomach where it lies dormant and prone to bacterial infection because the body cannot pass it through the digestive system. Small wonder then that the stomach bloats and gas is produced. With the body trying to rid itself of this package, it causes pain, sometimes agonizing. Relief can come from a hot water bottle on the stomach and massaging the lower abdomen. Straining the bowels causes piles which only add to the patient's discomfort, in short it's a misery.

How are food intolerance and allergies diagnosed?

With an allergy the sufferer may suddenly become very ill after eating, or even being in contact with the offending food. This can occur an any stage in the sufferer's life, although it usually appears in childhood. Common allergies are peanuts, shellfish, gluten and milk.
Food intolerance is more of a gradual process and can years to diagnose. It doesn't help that often the offending food is a particular favorite of the sufferer. Quite how this occurs is debated hotly by the medical profession. I would advise any person that has suddenly had a severe reaction to a particular food to seek medical advise as soon as possible.

With intolerance the symptoms are not life threatening but are serious enough to cause a form of food poisoning that can become dangerous to the sufferer. Gastroenteritis leaves the body weak and dehydrated. Stomach cramps can cause a person to collapse from the pain.
My own particular food intolerance is lactose, which is found in milk and even by-products of milk such as whey and cassienates. I was diagnosed with this condition twenty-five years ago and at that time the only diagnostic tool was a serious of blood tests done under stringent hospital conditions. Nowadays there are easier tests but it's not my intention to go into the full range of tests. Rather that I am setting the scene for other sufferers and allowing others to understand what we have to cope with.

Food Substitutes.

In the early days of finding out I was going to be restricted to certain foods for the rest of my life I was naturally staggered. Imagine this:, no milk, no cheese, no pastry, no butter or margarine, no ice-cream, biscuits, chocolate?
People with gluten allergies were even worse off, they had so many foods they couldn't eat and all substitutes were vastly expensive.
Over the last ten years companies and the shops that sell the alternative products to people with allergies and food intolerance have managed to cut their prices, so now that the supermarkets have added such supplies to their range we no longer have to pay high prices for the basic things in life. Shops and supermarkets have become more conscious of labellings food properly so that people with allergies can see if that particular food is suitable for them to eat. Substitutes are still expensive and the medical profession cannot supply such foods on the National Health Service, yet research shows that allergies and food intolerance's are on the increase. I am no medical expert, but I have seen the rise in all allergies, not just food, but in things like Asthma. It's widespread in the area I live in, South Wales and children are the victims most affected. However, this is meant as a general article to help people become aware of the problem and how to live with it.

What Next?

The labellings of food has helped a lot, but there is still a long way to go with certain foods and even prescription drugs. Lactose (found in all milk products), is widely used in tablets and medicines. It is also used as a preservative in many meat products such as chicken, turkey, ham and pork. Restaurants often serve pre-packaged food so for any allergy sufferer a meal out is fraught with danger. There is also the question of price. Why should we pay more to get less? I no longer go into a caf for coffee, why should I when I pay the same price for a black coffee as my friend who gets a cappuccino ? I can buy Soya milk and margarine at about twice the price of a similar product. I have yet to find any restaurant that offers either Soya milk or margarine, so while my friends can tuck into mashed or baked potatoes with lashings of butter, I get charged the same for my dry potatoes.
Nowadays I phone the restaurant before I book a meal. I explain about my allergy and ask for a meal I know I can eat. It does limit my choice of food and there are so many dishes I cannot try since they are laden with butter or cream. Maybe if we all got together and protested about the government's policy on allergies, then maybe we could get a fairer deal.

Thanks for reading and it you'd like a review on dairy-free products then let me know.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Fuller.

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