Why you need to know what foods you are intolerant to.

Last week I introduced the F.I.T. Method, a revolutionary new way of addressing food, weight issues and illness in order to obtain optimum health and lose weight - if needed.

Yes, this isn't just a weight loss program, it is a new lease of life which benefits everyone.  You don't just have to have a weight problem to incorporate the F.I.T. Method into your life - this method is about improving ANYONE'S health.

In my experience of helping patients on a daily basis I have seen it all; obese people, overweight people, people with digestive problems, people with migraines, people who can't shift extra weight however hard they try, people with skin problems... and the list goes on.


YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE OVERWEIGHT TO HAVE INTOLERANCES.

Even people with healthy diets and lifestyles can have intolerances.  Just because a food is deemed healthy doesn't mean it is the right food for YOUR body.

As I said last week, all my intolerances were "healthy foods" the ones any nutritionist will tell you will do you the world of good.  There is no reasoning to food intolerances... except maybe one:

How varied is your diet?

One of the main causes of an intolerance is eating the same foods constantly.  We tend to eat without
thinking and we tend to prepare the same foods over and over again.  We are, after all, creatures of habit.  Well not having enough variety in your diet is a sure way to create your own food intolerances.  However,  there are also foods that people are intolerant to and they don't eat them often.

For example, I have had many patients who are intolerant to lemons!  How many lemons is a person liable to eat?

What is Food Intolerance?

Here is a standard definition and signs of a food intolerance issue from the Wikipedia:

"Non-allergic food hypersensitivity is the medical name for food intolerance, loosely referred to as food hypersensitivity, or previously as pseudo-allergic reactions. Non-allergic food hypersensitivity should not be confused with true food allergies.

Food intolerance reactions can include pharmacologic, metabolic, and gastro-intestinal responses to foods or food compounds. Food intolerance does not include either psychological responses or foodborne illness.

A non-allergic food hypersensitivity is an abnormal physiological response. It can be difficult to determine the poorly tolerated substance as reactions can be delayed, dose-dependant, and a particular reaction-causing compound may be found in many foods.  Non-IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity (food intolerance) is more chronic, less acute, less obvious in its presentation, and often more difficult to diagnose than a food allergy.  Symptoms of food intolerance vary greatly, and can be mistaken for the symptoms of a food allergy. While true allergies are associated with fast-acting immunoglobulin IgE responses, it can be difficult to determine the offending food causing a food intolerance because the response generally takes place over a prolonged period of time. Thus the causative agent and the response are separated in time, and may not be obviously related. Food intolerance symptoms usually begin about half an hour after eating or drinking the food in question, but sometimes symptoms may delayed up to 48 h.

Food intolerance can present with symptoms affecting the skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) either individually or in combination. On the skin may include skin rashes, urticaria (hives), angioedema, dermatitis, and eczema. Respiratory tract symptoms can include nasal congestion, sinusitis, pharyngeal irritations, asthma and an unproductive cough. GIT symptoms include mouth ulcers, abdominal cramp, nausea, gas, intermittent diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and may include anaphylaxis.

Food intolerance has been found associated with; irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, chronic constipation, chronic hepatitis C infection, eczema, NSAID intolerance, respiratory complaints, including asthma, rhinitis and headache, functional dyspepsia, eosinophilic esophagitis and ENT illnesses."

As you can see, this is a problem that can range from something trivial to other far more serious conditions.  Food Intolerances are not to be taken lightly, they can be easily dealt with and potentially serious problems avoided.

This is why food intolerance testing and the F.I.T. Method improves general health drastically and helps to prevent illness in the future.  It is very important to take food intolerances into consideration.  I have often heard of people complaining of problems that their doctor has not been able to diagnose - this doesn't mean that their problem IS a food intolerance but it is definitely worth checking out and is something that many doctors do not even consider.

I was shocked to hear Dr. Andrew Saul, say in the documentary Food Matters that during his time at medical school he did not receive ONE SINGLE CLASS on nutrition.  If you consider that water and food are essential for life, you would have thought that nutrition would be included at medical school.  

Another of my favorite "gurus" is Hiromi Shinya, MD who stated in his book The Enzyme Factor, that the problem with the medical industry is that everyone has become specialized... cardiologists, oncologists, dermatologists, etc... and treating the body as a WHOLE where everything works in harmony is being forgotten.  This is necessary for optimal health.

So, if the body runs on water and food, it is only logical to INCLUDE food and nutrition as part of the WHOLE workings of life.  Good, healthy food is essential for a good healthy body, but when a body becomes confused and does not see specific foods as a friend but as a foe, things can go wrong.  The effects of food on a person should also be included when striving for health or to overcome a medical problem.  I am not, by any means, saying that doctors have got it wrong, they just need to incorporate food and nutrition into the equation.

What I am trying to say is that foods can adversely effect our bodies, they can even cause illness, even if they are considered "healthy foods", it all depends on the individual.  So, discovering what you are intolerant to, and how to avoid creating a food intolerance is a logical thing to do to stay healthy.  Learning how to eat for your specific body is a sure way of staying healthy.

The F.I.T. Method will tell you exactly what you are intolerant to and will teach you how to eat correctly.

F.I.T Method:

• Scientific method
• Immediate guaranteed results
• Improvement in general health
• Personalized method

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com