Food Intolerance Testing

Hi I'm interested in this as I've got IBS
How's the food maps diet going for people I'm thinking of going to a dietician for this thanks

I went to fitzwilliam food testing this afternoon. I was sent away as they determined that the food testing would make me loose more weight than I needed to (that was not the objective of my visit). I also mentioned to them that i was in the legal profession so they were ultra cautious with me. The result was no test without a GP letter of referral! Thoughts anyone?

Having completed the FODMAPS diet, I would definitely recommend to anyone who has or thinks they have IBS to get to a nutritionist and start on the plan.

It's 6-8 weeks of avoiding all FODMAPs and gradual reintroduction, to see how you feel after certain foods.

For me, it was garlic and apples. GARLIC! :O I haven't stopped eating it completely, but I know what to expect when I do.

Nothing else works, everyone is different. I'm yet to find someone who did an 'allergy test' and wasn't told to reduce gluten and dairy..

You should be careful when eating out also. Always ask the waiter to check with the chef when ordering as a lot of sauces can contain gluten. When eating out you also run the risk of cross contamination if for instance chips (which are ok) are cooked in the same oil as say battered fish etc. - then you're in trouble.

Also, your tests results came back saying avoid cow's milk but I would test this to make sure it isn't just cow's milk - it could be dairy entirely. Try drinking a pint of normal milk one day vs a pint of Alpro unsweetened almond milk another day and see how you feel. You may need to exclude butter, cream, cheese etc. from your diet, like my girlfriend does. She is both gluten and dairy intolerant and experiences nausea, extreme bloating and tummy pain if she eats the wrong foods.

Lactase tablets can combat the effect of lactose contained in dairy but sadly there is nothing you can do about gluten except stop eating it and hope that your system improves over the years.

Lads got the results of the food intolerance test, I used to feel tired after dinner every day so I got tested. I dont have problems in the stool department or get pains but I got a small rash lately in the neck which could be work related (chemical handling), anyway I have high intollerance to egg white, cows milk, wheat, nuts and chocolate. What ye think should I give them up??

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I bet a lot of people out there who think it's gluten can tolerate spelt bread just fine (barring coeliac of course). Spelt has gluten but no fructans which is the fodmap that causes a lot of people with IBS to flare. Try it out and see if you notice a difference, if you do, try the fodmaps properly, it's quite restrictive but it get's easier as you introduce different foods.

For me it was wheat, onions and garlic. aka fructans.

Clareman wrote: »

I agree with you completely, there is no medical grounds for these tests or their findings, in fact the test behind them just highlights stuff you are eating, for me (and other's I'm sure) they are an extremely useful guideline. For example, I knew that there was something in some breads that would make me come out in a rash, I knew if I had a lot of full fat milk I wouldn't feel great, but I never thought of eggs and peanuts. I'd often have a packet of peanuts with a few pints and I'd be in bits the next day, now by cutting out the peanuts I don't feel so bad, boiled eggs are a thing of the past, I'm avoiding cream as well.

This caught my attention. I haven't been able to pinpoint out exactly what triggers my rash - just some flour products - never occurred to be it could be different types of flour.

Clareman, were you able to narrow down specific breads that are worse than others?

Are spelt breads even widely available? It would be interesting to try it out. I miss toast and butter

Just to clarify a few points.

1. To the poster who said "legally I am a nutritionist", it is important to inform what that means. A dietician is the legally recognised term both in Ireland, UK and many other countries for someone who has a bachelors degree in the science of nutrition. Nutritionist is not a legally defined term. Therefore the poster by saying that legally they are a nutritionist, really what they mean is legally they are NOT a dietician. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist as it has no legal meaning.

2. Medically, people either have food allergies or inability to process specific food items. Food allergies are allergic reactions caused by specific antibodies to specific food components. Other people can have inherited enzyme deficiencies. The alternative food industry has taken this and generalised it to people with bad diets. The most recent fad is the gluten free diet. The thinking being that given certain individuals (coeliacs) have specific antibodies to the gliaden fraction of gluten, which causes specific complaints, including an increased risk of a particular type of bowel tumor, then if we eliminate gluten from healthy people it will also make them feel better. This is false logic. The trend before gluten was lactose. Some people are born with an inability to process lactose (lactosemia). In babies born with this, continued intake of lactose leads to liver failure and delayed development. Again the alternative brigade took this and said well maybe eliminating lactose from people who are born normally also must be good and hence the fad arises.

3. Reading those that have food "intolerances: here, the answer is staring them in the face. For example the poster looking for that magic dietary cure which will change their life. Except, a 10 day business trip, with meals out and alcohol is never going to change that. Its analogous to the diet industry. People want that magic diet, that one simple easy thing to make the weight fall off. Having seen many patients with irregular bowel habits or cramping etc, closer inspection always finds the answer. Many of these will have hectic lives, irregular sleep patterns, too much alcohol, caffeine, processed foods. Eliminating certain particular foods is not the answer. The answer is realising that to feel good you have to look after yourself, try sleep more, reduce the caffeine, eat less food in restaurants (full of salt and sugar). You dont need to pay 350 dollars for that.