Food Intolerance (Food Sensitivity)

Introduction to Food Sensitivity or Food Intolerance

Sensitivity to certain foods or food intolerance is often known as the Great Imitator because it frequently seems like other diseases. Food intolerance or food sensitivity is therefore often misread and misdiagnosed by doctors.

It is also responsible for unnecessary suffering in millions of people. Previously food intolerance was thought to be quite rare. It is now known to be the opposite - rather prevalent*. In addition people with untreated food intolerance – food sensitivities of which they are unaware - are at increased risk of serious diseases like diabetes, obesity, bowel cancer, dementia and arthritis.

There are dozens of symptoms (see Symptoms Matrix - you must register first) that can be attributed to food intolerance. The main types of food sensitivity are:

Definition of Food Sensitivity - Food Intolerance

Sensitivity to certain foods or food intolerance is the inability to properly digest or fully process certain foods, leading to chronic symptoms and, if left untreated, serious diseases.

There are dozens of symptoms (see Symptoms Matrix – you must register first) that can be attributed to food intolerance. Mostly they are the following types:

• Gastro-intestinal (stomach and intestines)
• Respiratory (lungs and breathing)
• Dermatological (skin diseases)
• Neurological (pain, memory and mood)
• Musculo-skeletal (muscle and bone disorders)
• Reproductive (genital and fertility issues)
• Immune responses (ability to fight infection)

Main Points about Food Sensitivity (Food Intolerance)

Here is a concise summary of food intolerance:

1. Serious Health Risks: Although they may seem only lifestyle threatening rather than life threatening, if left untreated food intolerances can lead to serious health risks. Some people have more than one food intolerance.



2. Widely suffered: Clinical evidence indicates food intolerance or sensitivity is much more prevalent than the small minorities usually quoted. (eg. Gluten sensitivity is now thought to be ~15% of Americans, rather than ½%. And Lactose intolerance is now known to be so prevalent (~75% are affected to some extent) that those who are not lactose intolerant (the minority) have been described using a new term: lactase persistent. This is to emphasise that they still produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. Most humans stop producing lactase at weaning, or around two years of age.



3. Poorly diagnosed: Even the medical profession concedes that all four types of food sensitivity: Gluten sensitivity, Lactose intolerance, Yeast sensitivity and Fructose Malabsorption are poorly diagnosed. See references below*.



4. Disconnect – cause & effect: Because reactions to foods can be up to 48 hours after eating, patients have traditionally had difficulty connecting the food with the sensitivity. This leads to the habit of finding symptom relief using over-the-counter medications rather than consultation with a doctor.



5. Low awareness: Few people understand the effects of food sensitivity and food intolerance. It is often confused with food allergy. And because of a vague presentation of chronic symptoms that are not life threatening adult sufferers in particular are sometimes not taken seriously or worse, discounted as hypochondriacs.



6. Worse with age: As with everything else – food sensitivities and all the symptoms of food intolerance get worse as we get older. Unfortunately another effect is to exacerbate other conditions like heart disease, liver, kidney and lung dysfunction amongst other things.



7. Insidious and debilitating: Mostly inconspicuous, the symptoms of food sensitivity tend to be those we 'put up with' on a daily basis: itching skin, mild diarrhea, coughing, tiredness, mouth ulcers, stomach bloating, headache. By the time food sensitivity is properly diagnosed and managed the person's general health can be seriously compromised, with a much greater likelihood of anaemia, osteoporosis, Celiac Disease, Crohn's Disease and even bowel cancer.



8. Atopic: Allergic conditions are atopic, they 'run in families' and it is the same with most food intolerance. Celiac Disease (or Gluten sensitivity) for instance occurs in 10% of all first degree relatives of Celiacs - sisters, brothers, parents and children. Food sensitivities can present as allergies or intolerances within the same family.



9. It Can Be Triggered: Food intolerance can turn up later in life. People are frequently surprised to discover they are Lactose intolerant or sensitive to Fructose or Gluten - when they reach ages of 20, 30, 40 or older. The things that trigger intolerance are the 'life events' like birth of a child, death of a family member, divorce, sickness, finding a new job etc. The propensity to be food intolerant was always there, and up till now the body had been compensating. But after serious stress the sensitivity can appear.



10. Easily remedied: Despite the risk of serious disease if neglected, Food intolerance is easily remedied with a changed diet. First the offending food must be positively identified using an Elimination Diet. Then a changed diet like eating Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Yeast-free, Fructose-free or Wheat-free is very successful in eliminating symptoms. When properly managed, such diets bring sufferers back to full health, improved resistance to disease and renewed personal motivation.

As you can see from the table above Food intolerance is not rare. Lots of people have it but don't realise. Symptoms are a signal from your body that you have a food sensitivity. Don't ignore the signal.

To find out which one is you, look in the Symptoms Matrix (must register first).

Remember - for great tips and info on Food Intolerance sign up for our newsletter - it's free!

More information

References - Some of the references used for our research:

• Beri D, Malaviya AN, Shandilya R, Singh RR: Effect of dietary restrictions on disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 1988;47:69-77.
• Cabral Rodriguez R, Arrieta Blanco F, Vicente Sanchez F, Cordobes Martin F, Moreno Caballero B.: Adult oligosymptomatic coeliac disease. An Med Interna. 2004 Dec;21(12):599-601.
• Collin P, Maki M. Associated disorders in coeliac disease: clinical aspects. Scand J Gastroenterol 1994; 29:769-775
• Collin P, T Reunala, E Pukkala, P Laippala, O Keyriläinen, and A Pasternack. Coeliac disease - associated disorders and survival. Gut 1994 September; 35(9): 1215–1218.
• Corvaglia L, Catamo R, Pepe G, Lazzari R, Corvaglia E.: Depression in adult untreated celiac subjects: diagnosis by the pediatrician. Am J Gastroenterol. 1999 Mar;94(3):839-43.
• Cottliar A, Palumbo M, La Motta G, de Barrio S, Crivelli A, Viola M, Gomez JC, Slavutsky I.: Telomere length study in celiac disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2003 Dec;98(12):2727-31.
• Duggan, JM: Coeliac Disease: the great imitator MJA 2004;180(10): 524-526
• Eaton SB, Konner M, Shostak M.: Stone agers in the fast lane: chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective. Am J Med. 1988 Apr;84(4):739-49.
• Fei Zhong1, Candace C. McCombs1, Jane M. Olson2, Robert C. Elston2, Fiona M. Stevens3, Ciaran F. McCarthy3 & Joseph P. Michalski1, An autosomal screen for genes that predispose to celiac disease in the western counties of Ireland. Nature Genetics 14, 329 - 333 (1996) doi:10.1038/ng1196-329
• Gale L, Wimalaratna H, Brotodiharjo A, Duggan JM. Down syndrome is strongly associated with coeliac disease. Gut 1997;40:492-496
• Hoggan R.: Considering wheat, rye, and barley proteins as aids to carcinogens. Med Hypotheses. 1997 Sep;49(3):285-8.
• Holmes GK, P Prior, MR Lane, D Pope and RN Allan. Gastroenterology Unit, General Hospital, Birmingham. Malignancy in coeliac disease--effect of a gluten free diet. Gut. 1989 March; 30(3): 333–338.
• Holmes GK, PL Stokes, TM Sorahan, P Prior, JA Waterhouse and WT Cooke,C oeliac Disease, gluten-free diet and malignancy. Gut, Vol 17, 612-619
• Holmes GK.: Coeliac disease and malignancy. Dig Liver Dis. 2002 Mar;34(3):229-37.
• Holmes GK.: Screening for coeliac disease in type 1 diabetes. Arch Dis Child. 2002 Dec;87(6):495-8.
• Holmes GKT. Non-malignant complications of coeliac disease. Acta Paediatr Suppl 1996;412; 68-75
• Ledochowski M, Widner B, Bair H, Probst T, Fuchs D.: Fructose- and sorbitol-reduced diet improves mood and gastrointestinal disturbances in fructose malabsorbers. Scand J Gastroenterol 2000; 35:1048-1052.
• Leffler D, Saha S, Farrell RJ.: Celiac disease. Am J Manag Care. 2003 Dec;9(12):825-31; quiz 832-3.
• Lo W, Sano K, Lebwohl B, et al. Changing presentation of adult celiac disease. Dig Dis Sci 2003; 48: 395-398
• Lohiniemi, S. Tricky to find, hard to treat, impossible to cure: Lancet Volume 358, Supplement 1
• Lubrano E, Ciacci C, Ames PR, et al. The arthritis of coeliac disease: prevalence and pattern in 200 patients. Br J Rheumatol 1996; 35:1314-1318
• Lunardi C, Bambara LM, Biasi D, Venturini G, Nicholis F, Pachor ML, DeSandre G: Food allergy and rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Exp Rheumatol 1988;6:423-26.
• Macdiarmid JI, Hetherington MM.: Mood modulation by food: an explanation of affect and cravings in 'chocolate addicts'. Br J Clin Psychol 1995;34:129-38.
• Nelsen DA, JR., M.D., M.S., University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy (Celiac Disease): More Common Than You Think.
• O'Connor TM, Cronin CC, Loane JF, O'Meara NM, Firth RG, Shanahan F, O'Halloran DJ. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, coeliac disease, and lymphoma: a report of four cases. Diabet Med. 1999 Jul;16(7):614-7.
• Ojetti V, Sanchez JA, Guerriero C, et al. High prevalence of coeliac disease in psoriasis. Gastroenterology 2003; Suppl. 1: A656
• Potocki P, Hozyasz K.: Psychiatric symptoms and coeliac disease. Psychiatr Pol. 2002 Jul-Aug;36(4):567-78.
• R Goldstein, D Braverman, H Stankiewicz.: Carbohydrate malabsorption and the effect of dietary restriction on symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and functional bowel complaints. Israel Medical Association Journal, 2000, Vol 2, Iss 8, pp 583-587
• Sanders et al. Association of adult coeliac disease with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a case-control study in patients fulfilling ROME II criteria referred to secondary care. Lancet 2001; Volume 358: 1504 -1508.
• Schweizer, Joachim J. *; Oren, Anath *; Mearin, M. Luisa *; The Working Group for Celiac Disease Malignancy of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology Nutrition . Cancer in Children With Celiac Disease: A Survey of the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Cancer in Children With Celiac Disease: A Survey of the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Gastroenterology, Volume 128, Issue 4, pps S79-S86
• Shatin R: Preliminary report of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with high protein gluten-free diet and supplements. Med J Aust 1964;2:169-72.
• Sher K, Jayanthi V, Probert CSJ, et al. Infertility, obstetric and gynaecological problems in coeliac disease. Dig Dis 1994;12:186-190
• Sher K, Mayberry J. Female fertility, obstetric and gynaecological history in coeliac disease: a case control study. Gastroenterology 1994; 55: 243 – 246
• SjobergK, Eriksson KF, Bredberg A et al. Screening for coeliac disease in adult insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Intern Med 1998; 243:133-140
• Sollid, Ludvig M. and Knut E. Lundin: An inappropriate immune response. Lancet Volume 358, Supplement 1, 2001.
• Tolan D: Boston University: Hereditary Fructose Intolerance website: http://www.bu.edu/aldolase/HFI/
• Usai P. Adult coeliac disease is frequently associated with sacroiliitis. Dig Dis Sci 1995; 40: 1906-1908
• Verkarre V, Romana SP, Cerf-Bensussan N.: Gluten-free diet, chromosomal abnormalities, and cancer risk in coeliac disease. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2004 Feb;38(2):140-2.
• Williams R: Rheumatoid arthritis and food: a case study. Brit Med J 1981;283:563.
• Wurtman RJ.: Nutrients that modify brain function. Sci Am 1982;246:50-9.

Back to top