Food intolerance - do you have it / would you get tested?

whiskeyman

More and more people seem to be going for tests for food intolerance these days and the supermarket shelves are being stocked with various different 'X-ingredient-free' foods to cater for it.
From bloatedness to fatigue and other symptoms, many of us should simply avoid certain foods (in some cases our favourites!) to feel better.
Do you have a food intolerance that requires you to avoid certain foods and do you stick to it?
Would you go for a food intolerance test?
If they said 'no wheat / beer / milk / chocolate etc...' would you really stick with it and try the alternative options?
I've always known I suffer from a mild bloated feeling after bread / pasta, so may have one, but I couldnt be bothered getting tested to be told to avoid those foods. Not sure I could live without pasta and bread!

CardBordWindow

If I eat shellfish, I vomit from both my mouth and my arse. It is very unpleasant, so I go out of my way to avoid shellfish. Probably more of an allergy than an intolerance though.

Penn

I'm intolerant to nuts. I once told a Brazil Nut to f*ck off back to where it came from.

No but really, too many nuts equals bad toilet experiences.

Lactose and wheat
basically EVERYTHING

I like chocolate so I'll still have some of that and once in a blue moon I'll have icecream
Sometimes it's just not worth it though

Penny Tration

I'm allergic to cow's milk. Doesn't bother me, I've never liked milk, chocolate, ice cream or anything. I love cheese though, so I buy vegan cheese it's been about eight years since I've eaten anything containing cow's milk.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i have rosacea so I dont know if it's an intolerance but there are several foods that **** with it so I just avoid them, including rashers

beautiful rashers

tin79

green_screen wrote: »

I'm allergic to cow's milk. Doesn't bother me, I've never liked milk, chocolate, ice cream or anything.

Blasphemer!!!!!

Ihatecuddles

I think I'm grand....never get bad cramps or anything. And I haven't had the sh*ts in ages

_Redzer_

green_screen wrote: »

I'm allergic to cow's milk. Doesn't bother me, I've never liked milk, chocolate, ice cream or anything. I love cheese though, so I buy vegan cheese it's been about eight years since I've eaten anything containing cow's milk.

Vegan cheese? Ewww, how the fúck does that work?

Luckily enough I'm fully adapted to our modern diet. Can pig out on anything without issue

maximoose

Never tested, but think I'm fine. I am a regular visitor to heartburn city but don't think it's intolerance or allergy, I just love my spice.

OH has a mild allergy to eggs, peppers, wheat and a lactose intolerance. She's also vegetarian. Bloody nightmare.

_Redzer_

maximoose wrote: »

Never tested, but think I'm fine. I am a regular visitor to heartburn city but don't think it's intolerance or allergy, I just love my spice.

OH has a mild allergy to eggs, peppers, wheat and a lactose intolerance. She's also vegetarian. Bloody nightmare.

Bad genes. Think of your kids ffs!

o1s1n

I've an intolerance to beer. It rips the stomach out of me. Doesn't stop me drinking it though

sok2005

I get an itchy mouth when I eat kiwis, oranges or tomatoes. No idea if i'm intolerant or allergic but it goes away after 5 minutes!

catrionanic

I get bad diarrhoea after dairy so unless I've got a night in the house and am okay with a few hours of pain, it's really not worth it.

sucks though, as I haven't had a pizza in years

seamus

My mum swears blind that we were all lactose intolerant as babies, so never drank milk growing up. I don't seem to actually be lactose intolerant, but as a result I can't drink milk on its own, it's gross, but I'll have it in tea, etc.

I wouldn't say I've any intolerances. I'll get heartburn if I eat too many carbs/sugars (like I used to in my younger days), but I think that's pretty normal.

My wife is wheat intolerant, though she's never gotten formally tested, she just figured it out through trial and error. She claims to be allergic to coffee because it gives her dodgy intestines, but I think that's pretty much par for the course with coffee, some people are just more sensitive to it than others.

Teyla Emmagan

I got tested in the allergy clinic in the Charlemont. One of those skin pick tests that cost about €400. They tested me for 20 things and I was to some degree allergic to 16. Mostly food stuffs but some environmental factors. I could have cut half my diet out or ignored the symptoms. None of my allergies are life threatening so I chose the latter. Sometimes my eyes swell up so much they nearly close though, so it may not have been the best decision. My mother is very atopic so it runs in the family.

Am also intolerant to too many white carbs, so eat very little pasta/white bread. They trigger IBS symptoms. Long as I keep away from those I'm grand.

kneemos

As the saying goes"if toy walk into an opticians you'll walk out with glasses"

brevity

My psoriasis goes mental if I have too much Sugar, Wine or Bacon. Processed foods set it off as well.

This is the year I get rid of the psoriasis though!

Gongoozler

I don't know how I'd survive with a food allergy. Especially milk, couldn't do without chocolate or cheese or yogurt.

Chinese food or fried food often doesn't settle well with me but I suppose that's a good thing.

tipptom

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I got tested in the allergy clinic in the Charlemont. One of those skin pick tests that cost about €400. They tested me for 20 things and I was to some degree allergic to 16. Mostly food stuffs but some environmental factors. I could have cut half my diet out or ignored the symptoms. None of my allergies are life threatening so I chose the latter. Sometimes my eyes swell up so much they nearly close though, so it may not have been the best decision. My mother is very atopic so it runs in the family.

Am also intolerant to too many white carbs, so eat very little pasta/white bread. They trigger IBS symptoms. Long as I keep away from those I'm grand.

That's my problem with these tests,anyone I have known to have them done has come back with a bank of things to avoid in different degrees,but nearly all came back with dairy and if they had done what they were told,it would have been a sad life.


Heard the York clinic on Pat Kenny the other morning and they charge €350 for the test and she said that they gave back €320(if I heard her right)if you have no intolerances,would like to know what is their % of the refunds in their tests.

_Redzer_

seamus wrote: »

My mum swears blind that we were all lactose intolerant as babies, so never drank milk growing up. I don't seem to actually be lactose intolerant, but as a result I can't drink milk on its own, it's gross, but I'll have it in tea, etc.

I wouldn't say I've any intolerances. I'll get heartburn if I eat too many carbs/sugars (like I used to in my younger days), but I think that's pretty normal.

My wife is wheat intolerant, though she's never gotten formally tested, she just figured it out through trial and error. She claims to be allergic to coffee because it gives her dodgy intestines, but I think that's pretty much par for the course with coffee, some people are just more sensitive to it than others.

All mammals are lactose tolerant as babies. Humans shouldn't be able to digest it passed the age of 7/8 because we've been weaned.

It's only because of a genetic mutation in some of the world's population that we retain our ability to digest the lactose sugar in milk. And due to natural selection pressure like the famine (where your advantage of being able to survive off milk as an additional sublement meant you're odds of survival were much higher compared to a lactose intolerant person) gave way to Ireland consisting of nearly all lactose tolerant people due to the environmental pressures that killed off many who couldn't digest milk.

TLDR; it's actually the opppsite. All mammals can digest the lactose in milk, naturally we actually loose the ability as we get older, unless you're in the 33% in the world who have the right mutation.

kneemos

kneemos wrote: »

As the saying goes"if toy walk into an opticians you'll walk out with glasses"

If I saw toys walking into an opticians I would definitely be needing glasses.

robot7080

I did a food intolerance test and I have an intolerance for both sunflower seeds and dairy. I used to eat/drink a lot of dairy daily and it gave me really bad joint pain so I reduced it down and the problem went. Sunflower seeds / oil I don't use any more as there are many alternatives anyway.

I was very afraid I'd be intolerant to some of the groups that would be impossible to reduce. I got off lightly I guess

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

If I saw toys walking into an opticians I would definitely be needing glasses.

Or some kind of drugs...

Professey Chin

[Deleted User] wrote: »

If I saw toys walking into an opticians I would definitely be needing glasses.

Remote control robots

I think I'm safe with foods. Never eaten something that have me a bad reaction. Well unless it was just badly cooked. Ugh the trots

Ihatecuddles

When I drink smirnoff ice and other drinks like that I get a crippling pain across my chest and shoulders. I once passed out after drinking bacardi razz (an american alco pop)

Greenmachine

tipptom wrote: »

That's my problem with these tests,anyone I have known to have them done has come back with a bank of things to avoid in different degrees,but nearly all came back with dairy and if they had done what they were told,it would have been a sad life.


Heard the York clinic on Pat Kenny the other morning and they charge €350 for the test and she said that they gave back €320(if I heard her right)if you have no intolerances,would like to know what is their % of the refunds in their tests.

Sorry you are allergic to air. No refund for you.

Lyaiera

I'm not being flippant with this but I can't eat kebabs any more. There's a place near me that does great kebabs, I'd have them after a night out and when I was just being lazy with cooking. One night they disagreed with me, I couldn't sleep and spent all night in the toilet. I tried them again, same thing. Tried a kebab from another place and the same thing. I had donner chips from another place, and the same thing again. I can eat plenty of types of greasy foods without a problem and it just seems to be donner meat my stomach has taken a dislike to.

Bandit6irl

I did it about 6 months ago, came back I was intolerant to a load of stuff, wheat, gluten, pork, egg etc. Still eat em lol

seamus

_Redzer_ wrote: »

TLDR; it's actually the opppsite. All mammals can digest the lactose in milk, naturally we actually loose the ability as we get older, unless you're in the 33% in the world who have the right mutation.

Some offspring are born lactose intolerant. It's exceptionally rare in new babies, and usually not a result of an inability to produce lactase, but a short-term inhibition in lactase production.
Actual lactose intolerance in babies is life-threatening because they're unable to extract simple sugars from their mother's milk, so needs special management. Tbh, I'm not entirely sure where my mum got the lactose intolerance diagnosis from, I think we all tended to be windy and smelly after milk rather than having any major problems
That 33% statistic btw is a tiny bit misleading, because there are huge variances depending on your lineage. People of European lineage (incl. those in the Americas) are far less likely to be lactose intolerant (< 20%) than people of Asian or African lineage, where 95%+ of adults can be lactose intolerant, depending on region.

This is mostly due to milk being staple part of the northern European diet for the last 10,000 years, but largely unknown elsewhere.

Wibbs

bluewolf wrote: »

Or some kind of drugs...

or stay off them.

Lyaiera wrote:

I'm not being flippant with this but I can't eat kebabs any more. There's a place near me that does great kebabs, I'd have them after a night out and when I was just being lazy with cooking. One night they disagreed with me, I couldn't sleep and spent all night in the toilet. I tried them again, same thing. Tried a kebab from another place and the same thing. I had donner chips from another place, and the same thing again. I can eat plenty of types of greasy foods without a problem and it just seems to be donner meat my stomach has taken a dislike to.

Funny that happened to me with Guinness of all things. Used to hoover the stuff. One night, mid 90's first pint and minutes later eyes watering, snots everywhere. Full on allergic like response. Havent been able to touch it since or same happens. I can have other porters with no ill effects at all, indeed I can have bottled stout made by Guinness so I reckon they changed something in the draft Guinness.

That's my only reaction from a foodstuff. For a Dubliner this is a shameful shameful thing... :D

IMH the vast majority of "food intolerances" are BS(NOT food allergies, they obviously exist). Mostly complete quackery basically, with a sideorder of hypochondria and placebo effect.

_Redzer_

seamus wrote: »

Some offspring are born lactose intolerant. It's exceptionally rare in new babies, and usually not a result of an inability to produce lactase, but a short-term inhibition in lactase production.
Actual lactose intolerance in babies is life-threatening because they're unable to extract simple sugars from their mother's milk, so needs special management. Tbh, I'm not entirely sure where my mum got the lactose intolerance diagnosis from, I think we all tended to be windy and smelly after milk rather than having any major problems
That 33% statistic btw is a tiny bit misleading, because there are huge variances depending on your lineage. People of European lineage (incl. those in the Americas) are far less likely to be lactose intolerant (< 20%) than people of Asian or African lineage, where 95%+ of adults can be lactose intolerant, depending on region.

This is mostly due to milk being staple part of the northern European diet for the last 10,000 years, but largely unknown elsewhere.

Must be a negative mutation then. Never heard of that one. That said, we've only a set amount of lactase which varies on the individual, so if you've only enough enzymes to break down a pint's worth of lactose at a time, drinking in excess of that will bring on lactose intolerant-like symptoms regardless.

Lactose tolerance all depends on co-evolution and the domestication of cattle and other dairy stock. Some small pockets of Asia and Africa have very high levels of lactose tolerance (even compatible to us) because of their extensive domestication of livestock long enough to give them the mutation.

Wibbs

Wibbs wrote: »

IMH the vast majority of "food intolerances" are BS

lucky for some

tipptom

robot7080 wrote: »

I did a food intolerance test and I have an intolerance for both sunflower seeds and dairy. I used to eat/drink a lot of dairy daily and it gave me really bad joint pain so I reduced it down and the problem went. Sunflower seeds / oil I don't use any more as there are many alternatives anyway.

I was very afraid I'd be intolerant to some of the groups that would be impossible to reduce. I got off lightly I guess

I would love to do a test but a lot of people are very sceptical of these test centres,that they throw a lot of obvious ones at you and hope they land on something,but it sees to have worked for you?.


It seems the big cost of this test is said to be that you sit down with a nutritionist afterwards,i would like a cheaper one of just the test and figure out how to deal with it myself.

_Redzer_

Seems like everyone comes out with a new-found dairy allergy without fail

Phill Ewinn

Its bullsh1t.


Witchdoctory at its best

looksee

I had migraines on a regular basis, then I gave up chocolate - I tried cutting down but it did not work, so I don't eat it at all and I haven't had a migraine in years. I got the same effect from red wine and then some white wine and other alcohol, I don't drink much anyway, but I find if I stick to spirits with mixers I am ok.

Shenshen

Milk on its own makes me feel sick, not immediately but about 10 minutes or so after drinking it.

I also strongly suspect cheese to trigger migraines with me, but I haven't had a test done for that.
In small quantities, I'm fine with dairy, I just try to not ever overdo it, cause those migraines are really nasty.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I feel better for not eating really starchy/heavy foods. I used to have either rice (no real effect) pasta or potatoes every day with dinner, and I'd have some bread too, anywhere between 2 and 4 slices.

I couldn't be bothered really anymore, no bread and very rare that I'd have potatoes or pasta so I notice after I would eat it I'd be all lethargic and meh. Sometimes my tummy would get really irritated and I'd feel sick after it but not always.

Beer is also something I can't drink. One bottle of beer and ill break out in a rash, ill get cramps and sometimes diahorria, and ill just feel like absolute crap.

DM addict

I'd be sceptical of the Charlemont Clinic, simply because from a quick glance at their website they don't have any doctors or dieticians working there.

If I thought I had an allergy or food intolerance, I'd probably get my GP to refer me to an actual doctor that specialised in the issue, rather than a clinic with no physicians working there.

anncoates

Chocolate digestives give me hiccups for some reason.

sullivlo

I've never been tested by the York test or similar, but there are some foods I just cannot eat as they cause a flare up of colitis. I have huge GI issues - gall bladder, gastric reflux, small intestine rapid transit, gastroparesis, reflux from large intestine to small intestine, chronic constipation, bouts of colitis ...

I was in and out of hospital for years, tests up the yazoo, cameras up, down, in... And I was put on a massive regime of meds. I kept a food diary and found out that fibre (prescribed by my GI to treat constipation) caused severe pain and bloating. I cannot digest green vegetables - essentially they come out as they go in. Same for beans etc. By changing my diet I was able to come off 75% of meds and only take 3 types now (& more for flare ups, which are less and less frequent)

While I haven't a formal diagnosis, I know myself what I can and can't eat. I'm seeing a dietician to get a proper diet plan though so I don't have any deficiencies.

whatdoicare

Milk makes me feel ill and eating ice cream gives me instant diarrhoea. So I avoid Dairy.

Never been able to drink beer, ever. I drank beer a few times when I was a poor student and always the same. Stomach swells up like im pregnant and then I end up in bed for days with horrible cramps in my stomach. I get a milder form of it if I eat white bread.

Phill Ewinn

whatdoicare wrote: »

Milk makes me feel ill and eating ice cream gives me instant diarrhoea. So I avoid Dairy.

Never been able to drink beer, ever. I drank beer a few times when I was a poor student and always the same. Stomach swells up like im pregnant and then I end up in bed for days with horrible cramps in my stomach. I get a milder form of it if I eat white bread.

Gluten free beer.

"A life without beer something something something "
Said someone famous once

looksee

Sullivlo, have a look at Fodmap foods, see how they compare with your own conclusions.

czechlin

bluewolf wrote: »

Lactose and wheat
basically EVERYTHING

I like chocolate so I'll still have some of that and once in a blue moon I'll have icecream
Sometimes it's just not worth it though

Ah this sucks, but believe me it could be worse! My friend has the above + intolerance to chocolate and wine!

sullivlo

looksee wrote: »

Sullivlo, have a look at Fodmap foods, see how they compare with your own conclusions.

Yeah it's on the list of things to discuss with the dietician tomorrow

The ironic (?) thing is that while I was crippled with all of the GI symptoms, I was completing a phd in digestion, and collaborating on a study with my GI consultant!!!

tipptom

Spaghetti Bolognese out of the jar,half an hour later I am on the toilet singing the Paul Wellar song,"You do something to meee",wonder is it their mongoid tomatoes.

_Redzer_

Phill Ewinn wrote: »

Gluten free beer.

"A life without beer something something something "
Said someone famous once

I'm seeing Daura everywhere now. It's even invaded the old mans pub back home. Never would have thought there was a gluten free gap in the market for the aul lads

Real Life

bluewolf wrote: »

Lactose and wheat
basically EVERYTHING

I like chocolate so I'll still have some of that and once in a blue moon I'll have icecream
Sometimes it's just not worth it though

exactly the same

LittleKicker

I totally agree that food is generally the culprit to problems such as bloating - certainly in my case anyway. My bloating was quite severe and was due to dairy intolerance - I did the fitzwilliam food test and did make changes to my diet straight away and wouldn't go back! There were some other intolerances but it seems that dairy was the main culprit and the cause of the bloating - definitely worth doing if you suspect an intolerance to some food.