PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH FOOD INTOLERANCE'S

My food problems or food intolerance symptoms started some 14 years ago when I suffered severe stomach, ulcer-like symptoms. The doctors I consulted could not tell me what was wrong with me, not even after a gastroscopy. After  conducting my own food research,  I learned what not to eat to make the  food problems go away. I was still a bit baffled as to what was causing the food intolerance symptomsbut the fact that I no longer experienced pain, was enough to keep me ignorant and happy for some time.

I have had my food intolerances and allergies for over 10 years. Before they developed I enjoyed a varied diet, eating out with friends and always had an adventurous palate. This has not changed, accept now I have to be a little more cautious when choosing ingredients, dishes and new culinary experiences!

My food allergies are severe and include: nuts, fish, shellfish, fresh citrus and tree fruits, wheat and coffee. My intolerances are limited to dairy produce and chocolate. As dairy produce is sometimes hard to avoid, I am able to cope with a small intake of milk in tea and the odd helping of cheese, but if i overdo it, I certainly know all about it! I can feel very sick, have low energy levels and headaches.

Fortunately, dairy free produce is becoming much more widely available and also much tastier. There are a variety of milk alternatives on the market including soya milk, rice milk and oat milk. Lovely dairy free yoghurts, creams, ice creams and custards are widely available to buy from most supermarkets and health food shops and are often much tastier than the real thing. I have also found dairy free butter and cheese alternatives too. Many of the Free From ranges often make cakes and biscuits with dairy free ranges.

Living with my allergies and intolerances means taking responsibility for eating; I often phone ahead at restaurants to check the menu options and always let friends know what I  can and can't eat ( I often take food substitutes with me to help them out!) and finally, there are many fantastic cookery books available which offer lots of free from treats. If anything living with my allergies and intolerences has increased my range of cooking and the ingredients I use. I am healthy, happy and enjoy food enormously.

When first diagnosed I was confused and upset about what I could and couldn't eat, but once I became used to it and felt the benefits of an exclusion diet there was no looking back.

Simone

All my life I have had a ‘funny tummy’ but I lived with it, accepting it as part of life. I would be reluctant to go out to dinner or social events because of my ‘funny tummy’.

Now I know what the triggers are that cause my problems I can manage it myself and life has totally changed. I go out to dinner with friends, go to the theatre without having to immediately look for the loo. Sorting out my food triggers has also, to my complete surprise, meant that for the first time for at least twenty years I sleep the night through.

Before I just accepted I was a poor sleeper now my brain is sharper and I have so much more energy. Only now feeling as well as I am, do I realise just how poorly I was feeling all of the time. I visited my Doctor frequently, he is very caring but food never came into the conversation. I just wish I had known about food intolerance years ago.

June

My allergy/food intolerance started in my late fifties. I had been waking up with difficulty in breathing, a painful throat and an excessive thirst.
Nature dictated that I drink -- 4 or 5 pints of water brought about recovery.

After a few of these scary nights I visited my doctor who said I must have asthma, and prescribed Ventolin and Becotide inhalers. I used these for about 2 years. They relieved the condition but did not cure.

I did not like the idea of daily inhalations so I visited a homeopath, and took a course of drops. There was some improvement, and it was suggested I have a full blood/allergy test with York Laboratories. The results meant the exclusion from my diet ---wheat, corn/maize, rice, all dairy products and GARLIC!!

I abstained totally from these for 4 years, and then gradually re-introduced them in small amounts, every few days. I still take these in small amounts, only suffering slight catarrh, with the exception of GARLIC! Unless it is a miniscule amount garlic still hurts my neck and throat. This is sad, as I'm a real curry fan! So I bought some good curry recipe books and just make my own, minus the garlic. No problem -- and better than ready meals.

One wonders why there are more and more asthma sufferers these days. Is it most likely due to people's increasing consumption of ready meals, and sweets with additives and chemicals, plus poor air quality in and out of home.

Best of health, Rod

Following a virus, our fifteen year old daughter Rachel had been suffering from chronic stomach pains and regular bouts of diarrhoea over a nine month period. It was at times so serious; she had to stop eating midway through her meal to run to the loo to relieve herself from the excruciating pain, which resulted in unfinished meals and Rachel losing up to 1.5 pounds per week in weight.

Within a matter of time, Rachel became lethargic, had no energy, and looked extremely pale and was underweight for her age.

We were very worried and took her to the local GP, who gave her a blood test, but the results came back normal. We were told to simply keep an eye on her diet. After 9 months of suffering, I was recommended to have Rachel tested for food intolerance and was surprised to discover how many different foods she was intolerant to. Her results came back positive for wheat, gluten, egg, cow’s milk, cranberry, grapefruit, ginger, garlic and cocoa bean.

Rachel immediately cut out all of these foods, and amazingly within a few weeks Rachel’s health had dramatically improved.

Initially the sweets and chocolates were the most difficult to give up, but she realises, even at such a young age, how important her health is to her and how much better she was feeling.  I prepared many of her favourite dishes but without the foods that she is intolerant to so that she didn’t feel like she was missing out. Now after six months following the exclusion diet we have been able to reintroduce many of the foods that had been causing her problems and she is now tolerating them well.

Her appetite is now back and her weight has gone back to normal. Rachel’s skin is glowing, and we are happy to say that she is radiating more energy and life – like a normal 16 year old girl should be.

Kerry - Rachel's Mum

June