Food intolerances
We know that food intolerances can be unpleasant, which is why we combine years of experience in intolerance testing and diagnosis. We use the latest technology to provide you with a confident diagnosis within two days.
Food intolerances involve a negative reaction to a specific food, usually due to the lack of an enzyme required for digestion or reaction to a chemical found in the food. Intolerances are different to food allergies in that intolerances do not involve the immune system and are unlikely to cause a fatality.
Some common food intolerances include:
- Lactose
- Certain fruit
- Wheat
- Gluten
- Caffeine
- Salicylates (a natural chemical found in a range of foods including fruits and vegetables, teas, coffee, spices and nuts)
Signs of a food intolerance
Compared with allergies, symptoms for food intolerances may take a longer time to appear, from a couple of hours to two days. Symptoms can vary greatly depending on the intolerance, but the most common include:
- Bloating
- Stomach ache
- Diarrhea
- Feeling generally unwell, weak or lethargic
- Headaches or migraines
- Skin rashes
- Itching
Investigations & tests for food intolerances
A specialist consultant will first analyse your symptoms, medical history and family health history before conducting further investigations.
Due to the fact that symptoms of food intolerances and allergies may overlap, you may undergo a food intolerance test to first rule out the possibility of an allergy. This may take the form of a skin prick test (where extracts of food are placed on your arm, before the skin is pricked with a lancet to allow a reaction between the allergen and the immune cells), or a blood test.
The symptoms of food intolerances can also be confused with symptoms of other medical conditions, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Therefore, other condition-specific investigations may be organised.
Treatment for food intolerances
Dr Coker says, “We provide all-round, comprehensive testing and treatment for food intolerances. This offers peace of mind for our patients, many of whom come to The Coker Chest Clinic believing that they have a food allergy, or who have been previously diagnosed with an allergy and have found that treatment is not successful. Much of the time, we find that the condition is, in fact, an intolerance and we are able to issue the correct treatment, dramatically improving quality of life.”
Conditions Related To Food Intolerances
- Food allergies
- Eosinophilic Oesophagitis
- SIBO
Book your consultation
To arrange a telephone, video or face-to-face consultation with our specialist consultant in allergies, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.