Intolerant-Me

Food Allergy versus Food Intolerance:

If I wanted to be completely accurate, I would have to change the name of my blog to "Intolerant Me."  The reason I named it as I did is that most people have never heard of food intolerance.  I know I had never heard of it and never had a reason to research food allergies, intolerance or sensitivities.  In my mind, if you had a food allergy, you went into anaphylactic shock after eating, starting throwing up, breaking out or swelling all over your body.  Quite the specific picture, I know.

Food intolerance is very easily overlooked.  I have always been "sickly," for lack of a better word.  When the doctor asked me how many times I have had strep throat and I said three or four times a year, I wish I had a picture his face.  His personal opinion was that the number I stated should have been in my lifetime and not in a single year.  I attributed a lot of the food intolerance symptoms to just not taking a multivitamin or stress.  Ignoring a food intolerance can make you feel ill and affect your long-term health.

Illnesses that may be food intolerance: 

Gluten Intolerance Can Look Like:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome:  Can create chronic diarrhea, constipation, abdominal distention, poor weight gain, weight loss, weakness and chronic fatigue. 
• Depression and/or Anxiety:   Can create extreme fatigue, psychological problems, body aches, rash and hives. 
• Orthopaedic and Muscles Issues:  Can create fractures from thinning of the bone along with muscle wasting.  
• Miscarriage or Difficulty Getting Pregnant:  It has been studied that gluten intolerance may cause fertility problems.  Women are often diagnosed during pregnancy because their bowel cannot absorb enough iron and vitamins to keep up with the demand of being pregnant, making them severely anemic. Babies who are small for their age in the womb (intrauterine growth retardation) are more frequently born to mothers with gluten intolerance.

Lactose Intolerance Can Look Like: 

• Gastric issues:  Includes cramps or pain in your abdomen, the area between your chest and hips; bloating or swelling in your abdomen, gas, diarrhea, and nausea. 

Milk Allergy Can Look Like:

• Anxiety:  May cause hives and shortness of breath.
• Contact dermatitis:  May cause hives and/or skin rash (especially around the mouth.) 
• Gastric issues:  May cause loose stools (which may contain blood), diarrhea, abdominal cramps and/or vomiting. 
• Asthma:   May cause wheezing.
• Colic:  May cause colic symptoms in babies. 
• Allergies or Common cold:  May cause watery eyes, runny nose, drainage down the throat and coughing/wheezing. 

Egg Allergy Can Look Like:

• Contact dermatitis:  May cause mild-to-severe skin rash with or without hives. 
• Stomach bug:  May cause vomiting.
• Sinus issues:  May cause inflamed nasal passages.

Yeast Allergy Can Look Like:

• Chronic fatigue:  May cause extreme fatigue after eating food with significant amounts of yeast (such as eating bread or having a beer.)
• Immune system disorders:  May weaken the immune system and vital organs and causes their malfunctioning.
• Allergies or Common cold:  May cause sore throat, sneezing, headache, nasal congestion, itchy eyes and nose, watery eyes and coughing.
• Migraines:  May cause moderate-to-severe headaches.
• Contact dermatitis:  May cause skin rash. 
• Gastric issues:  May cause digestive problems and bloating, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, and abdominal pain. 
• Asthma:  May cause coughing and wheezing. 
• Other reactions:  May cause a white coated tongue or thrush, heartburn and dizziness.