Medical Community and Food Intolerances

Results of a survey indicated that people feel that their symptoms (that they feel are connected to foods) are treated dismissively by health care professionals.[1]

These results are disturbing because according to the Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine at least one-fifth of the population suffers from some form of allergic disease; that is a conservative estimate. One in ten children suffer from eczema and currently 15% of children in the UK are breathless or have asthma. Food intolerance causes or exacerbates many conditions; for example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn's disease, urticaria, atopic eczema, rhinitis, asthma, hyperactivity and rheumatoid arthritis. According to this article approximately 50% of all patients attending a gastroenterology clinic suffer from IBS and half of these respond to a simple elimination diet. Many of these conditions also respond very well to the elimination of simple foodstuffs with complete relief from symptoms. In addition it was found that diet and nutrition also play an important part in hyperactivity and delinquency.[2]

Unfortunately traditional medical diagnostic tools are not accurate in diagnosing food intolerances. The scratch test is inaccurate for testing foods [3] and the IgE/IgG4 antibody testing is unreliable.[4]

Fortunately all is not lost in the medical community, at least in the United Kingdom. Nurses ran food intolerance clinics in South London, Glasgow, Norfolk, and Birmingham in which patients were put on a two week healthy-eating diet. This proved to have a beneficial effect on more than 50% of the patients. Patients who did not feel better were put on a two week wheat and dairy-free diet after which nearly half (49%) felt that their symptoms improved. In summary, more than 70% of the patients felt markedly better.[5]

If you have health issues and do not find support or solutions in the medical community do not lose hope. There are many websites that provide complementary and alternative evaluation of food allergies and food intolerances.[6]

[1] GP: General Practitioner; 1/26/2007, p26, 1p

[2] Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, Dec97, Vol, 7 Issue 4, p319, 2p

[3] Haas, Dr. Elson, The False Fat Diet, The Ballantyne Publishing Group, 2001, p 149

[4] Clinical & Experimental Allergy; Dec98, Vol.28 Issue 12, p1526-1529, 4p, 5

[5] Practice Nurse, 2009 Feb 13; 37(3)

[6] Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet; 2003, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p81, 7p, “Alternatives in the Treatment of Food Allergies”