Food Intolerance may be a Digestive Problem
Lactose Intolerance
Our Food Intolerance Tests
Children's Testing
What happens during a Consultation?
Food Intolerance Health Screening
Genuine food allergy is rare. About 2% of the population (and 8% of children under the age of three) are affected.
What is a food allergy?
A Food Allergy is a rapid and potentially serious response to a food by your immune system. It can trigger classic allergy symptoms such as a rash, wheezing and itching. The most common food allergies among adults are to fish, shellfish and nuts – including peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and brazil nuts. Children often have allergies to milk and eggs as well as to peanuts, other nuts and fish.
What is a food intolerance?
Food intolerances are more common than food allergies. The symptoms of food intolerance tend to come on more slowly, often many hours after eating the problem food. Typical symptoms include:
- Bloating and stomach cramps
- Constipation or Diarrhoea
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Unexplainable skin rashes
- Candida and yeast problems
- Headches and Migraines
- Sinus pain
It is possible to be intolerant to several different foods. This can make it difficult to identify which foods are causing the problem. Food intolerances can also be difficult to tell apart from other digestive disorders that can produce similar symptoms, such as inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal obstructions or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Food Intolerance may be a Digestive Problem
Food intolerance may also be an inability to properly digest certain foods. In some cases food passes right through the body before digestion is complete – so is eliminated only partially processed like milk products causing diarrhoea . In other cases some foods have components which actually attack the lining of the gut and damage it every time that food is eaten (like Celiacs with gluten). Fortunately most food intolerant people recover fully when the offending food is avoided.
Direct problems such as severe abdominal cramps, bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea and hemorrhoids are common. However the indirect problems associated with poor absorption can be much more harmful. When food leaves the body only partially processed many vital nutrients are lost too. People with food intolerance typically catch viruses easily, may have dry skin, hair and nail problems and tire easily. Some become deficient in iron or calcium and suffer a further series of health issues like anaemia or osteoporosis.
Many food intolerant people are underweight due to their inability to get full nutrient value from foods. Of course with diarrhoea there is the constant risk of dehydration especially among children and elderly people. Others can be overweight often from an interference with the thyroid gland causing a disruption to normal metabolism.
If you are suffering from food intolerances, environmental allergies, IBS, bloating, lowered metabolism or hormonal disruption, consider taking one of our food intolerance or comprehensive tests to pinpoint some of the underlying causes.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose Intolerance - sometimes known as dairy intolerance - occurs when your body can't digest lactose. Lactose is in milk and dairy products such as yoghurts and soft cheeses. The main symptoms are diarrhoea and stomach pain.
Could it be another type of food intolerance or condition?
Sometimes it isn't clear which food is causing a problem. The only reliable way of identifying such a food intolerance is through an exclusion diet, or by having a test for Food Intolerances.
Coeliac Disease is a common digestive condition where a person has an adverse reaction to gluten. However, coeliac disease is not an allergy or an intolerance to gluten. It is an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley that damages the intestine of people with coeliac disease. Symptoms include diarrhoea, bloating and weight loss. Coeliac disease can be accurately diagnosed with a blood test and biopsy.
Treatments for food allergy and food intolerance
In the case of a food allergy you'll have to avoid the food you're allergic to. You may be able to eat the cooked versions without any problems, for example with fruit or vegetable allergies.
With lactose intolerance you'll have to reduce the amount of dairy food that you eat. With other forms of food intolerance, you'll have to stop eating the food for a while, or possibly for life.
With the autoimmune condition coeliac disease, you must avoid gluten for life.
Our Food Intolerance Tests and Digestive Analysis Tests
We offer two types of Food Intolerance Screening, the Basic Test covers 104 foods, as well as some general Cooking Ingredients and some Beverages.
If you require a more comprehensive Food Intolerance Screening then you are better having our Advanced Analysis. This covers screening for over 260 foods as well as Digestive Enzyme disturbance; this can cover any problems with digestion and may identify any imbalance in your gut flora or your ability to digest your foods.
The Advanced Analysis also discovers any deficiencies in Vitamin and Minerals and essential fatty acids; this can be extremley helpful as certain vitamins and minerals may not be being absorbed in your body because of a number of other digestive factors; for example, stomach acid.
If you think that your Food Intolerance may be a Digestive problem then we have the Digestive Analysis Test.
Advanced Test £110
Testing for over 260 foods as above plus:
- More Grains Spelt, Gluten, White Rice, Brown Rice and Quinoa
- More Dairy Goat's Milk, Goat's Cheese, Sheep Milk, Sheep Cheese ( Ewe)
- More Meat Turkey, Venison, Pheasant and Duck
- More Fish Anchovy, Crab, Haddock, Mackerel, Sea Bass, Plaice, Tuna and Trout
- More Vegetables +45
- More Fruits +48
- More Herbs and Spices +35
- Oils Olive, Sunflower, Coconut, Vegetable and Soya.
- Pulses Brown Lentil, Red Lentil, Chickpea, Butter Beans, Pinto, Haricot
- More Nuts and Seeds +20
- More Sweeteners Glucose, Honey, Manuka, Sugar Cane, Xylitol, Agave
- Misc Carob, Chocolate, Hops, Ground Coffee, Alchol, Vinegar, Tofu, Sweets
- E Numbers, Additives 57
- All Vitamin Deficiencies
- All Mineral Deficiencies
- All digestive Enzymes and Essential Fatty Acids
Click here to order
Digestive HealthCare Analysis £140
Beat that Bloated Feeling with a Special Digestive Analysis & Food Intolerance Test
Acid Reflux? Bloating? Cramping and Stomach Pains? Flatulence? Candida? IBS Symptoms? Testing for over 260 Foods as in our Advanced Test, plus:
- In-depth Testing for Digestive Enzymes
- Testing for Candida,Yeast Overgrowth
- Imbalanced Gut Flora
- Bacterial Overgrowth
- Cell Health and Cell Integrity
- Testing All Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies
- Testing for all Amino acids
- Testing for all Essential Fatty Acids
Click here to order
Advanced Premium Test £195
Testing for over 600 foods as above plus:
- More Grains as in Advanced Plus Amaranth,Teff,Buckwheat,Popcorn,Bulgar Wheat,Quinoa
- Advanced Dairy Important aspects of Dairy,- Lactoses,Lactates, Lacitols, Caseinates,Casein
- More Vegetables +35
- More Fruits +20
- Oils more Transfats
- E Numbers, Additives 65
- All Vitamin Deficiencies
- All Mineral Deficiencies
- All digestive Enzymes and Essential Fatty Acids
Click here to order
What happens during a Consultation?
Our first meeting will take in the region of 1 hour. We use a detailed health questionnaire to gain a fuller picture of your health, lifestyle, diet, past and current medical problems to assess how effectively your body is working at the moment and how this can potentially be improved.
We will then carry out your Allergy / Food Intolerance Test or Whole Body Screening using the Asyra Pro system. The client remains fully clothed and will feel nothing throughout the screening process. The Asyra runs the tests and the results are displayed on the computer screen, along with courses of treatment.
We will then have a discussion about the test results, after which we will make some initial recommendations. Following your consultation we will send you a full report and supporting handouts together with a print out of the Asyra test results.