What should you know about food intolerance?

Symptoms may appear hours after eating and can include abdominal discomfort, wind, nausea, loose stools, constipation, tiredness or headaches. The trigger may depend on portion size and can be confused with irritable bowel symptoms or another digestive condition. A food allergy can cause hives, swelling, wheeze or a rapid reaction, so the distinction matters.

A symptom diary can record the food, portion, timing, symptoms and other factors such as stress or infection. This pattern is more useful than assuming one food is responsible after a single episode.

Do not remove several food groups without advice, because restrictive eating can reduce nutrition and make the true trigger harder to identify. A clinician may suggest structured assessment or Food Intolerance Testing, while Nutrition Counselling can help plan safe substitutions. Some tests sold directly to consumers do not provide a reliable diagnosis.

Continue ordinary meals unless a clinician advises otherwise, and bring your symptom diary to an appointment. If symptoms repeatedly follow one food, discuss a supervised avoidance and reintroduction plan.

Seek urgent help for swelling of the lips or tongue, trouble breathing, faintness or a rapidly spreading itchy rash after eating. Arrange medical review for ongoing diarrhoea, persistent vomiting, weight loss, blood in the stool, night symptoms or signs of dehydration.

Ask whether your symptoms fit Food Intolerance, whether allergy assessment is needed, which foods should remain in your diet, and how to test a suspected trigger safely.