What should you know about check for food intolerances?

Food intolerance can cause digestive symptoms without the same immediate immune pattern as a food allergy. Bloating, abdominal discomfort, wind, nausea or Diarrhoea may appear after a particular food or ingredient, sometimes after a delay. Symptoms can also reflect irritable bowel symptoms, infection, medicines or another digestive condition, so a pattern alone does not confirm the cause. The amount eaten, preparation and other foods may affect what happens.

Write down foods, portions, timing, symptoms, bowel changes and relevant medicines for a short period. Do not remove many foods at once, because this makes patterns harder to interpret and can reduce nutritional variety. A clinician may recommend Food Intolerance Testing or a structured elimination followed by planned reintroduction. Nutrition Counselling can help protect calcium, fibre, protein and other nutrient intake when a food group is being limited. Avoid unvalidated home tests and do not deliberately reintroduce a food that has caused swelling, breathing difficulty or collapse.

Call emergency services for lip, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing, trouble breathing, faintness or sudden widespread hives after eating. Arrange medical review for persistent vomiting, blood in stool, unexplained weight loss, night-time symptoms, severe pain, or ongoing Diarrhoea. Children with poor growth, restricted eating or repeated symptoms need assessment so that nutrition and other causes are considered.

Ask whether your pattern fits Food Intolerance, what should be recorded in a diary, whether testing is useful, and how to remove and reintroduce foods without creating nutritional gaps.