When you have a food intolerance, it can result in painful headaches and migraines, bloating, constipation, fatigue and tiredness. So it’s important that you identify exactly what you’re intolerant to so that you can overcome it. But how do you do that?
Firstly, you should visit a doctor/dietician to ask for their advice. They will help you to create a health plan that includes making a note of when you experience the symptoms and what you have eaten. This will help to lay out a stricter diet that you can follow to help stop the food intolerance.
Alongside this, you can take a food sensitivity test. Now, there are contradicting opinions about them across the web, with some saying that they are great for identifying the specific type of food that you’re intolerant to, to others saying that they aren’t 100% accurate. If you do want to take one, it’s important that you read reviews online and take a look at the different brands that offer them (an example of which are food sensitivity tests by Everlywell).
You want to test to see what you’re intolerant to so that you can eliminate the specific food that you’re sensitive to from your diet. This will help you to manage your diet and it will help to overcome the food intolerance that you have. You need to listen to what your body is telling you in order to start feeling like yourself again.
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Food intolerance might fade as you age – with many faced by children simply fading as they grow up. But if you don’t see a change in it, it’s important to stay away from the foods that are causing you to feel unwell. Often, those with food tolerances will also face IBS symptoms, so in order to identify exactly what’s causing havoc with your digestive system, as mentioned above, it’s important to follow a health plan and if you can afford it (food sensitivity tests can be expensive), to take a food sensitivity test – just keep in mind, however, that these aren’t always 100% reliable and might not immediately identify what the issue is.
It’s also important to consider that an intolerance to food won’t become apparent until up to 72 hours after you’ve eaten it. So don’t think that what you’re intolerant to is something that you have eaten earlier that day. Also, if you have faced intolerance as a child and you have eliminated the food, as you are older, you might be able to reintroduce the food to your diet. If you want to do this, of course, it’s advised that you should do so at a slower pace, to ensure that your gut has the time to get used to the food again.
These are just some of the ways that you can overcome a food intolerance. If you do take on an elimination diet without consulting your doctor, you should make sure that you’re not limiting yourself on the other types of food groups – especially if you’re intolerant to dairy (for example). Whatever you do, make sure that you ask your doctor’s advice and thoroughly research before.