HAVE you ever wondered if what you eat is making you ill? Could that seemingly harmless piece of toast be contributing towards your irritable bowel syndrome, eczema or headaches?

According to Allergy UK food intolerances affect around 45 per cent of the UK adult population and true food allergies affect approximately two per cent of adults.

The difference between an allergy and intolerance is down to the way in which the body reacts, and the speed of the response. For example a peanut allergy produces a fast and often life threatening immune reaction that can cause swelling in the mouth and throat and impair breathing.

On the other hand, food intolerance symptoms tend to be slower and more chronic, occurring frequently and being very uncomfortable but not life threatening.

Symptoms of food intolerance include headaches, migraines, skin rashes, fatigue, bloating, joint pains, constipation and diarrhoea. It can be difficult to identify problem foods because the symptoms may not appear until a few hours or even a day or so after the food was eaten.

Food intolerances can be triggered in several ways; lYour immune system can be stimulated by certain proteins in the food causing histamine and other inflammatory chemicals to be produced.

• Your body struggles to digest particular molecules; for example lactose intolerance is caused by not being able to break down lactose, a milk sugar.

• Reactions to pesticide residues or food additives.

• Stress; ongoing stress stops your body from digesting foods properly and affects the health of your gut lining. Once the gut lining is impaired, tiny food molecules can pass through into your bloodstream and trigger an immune reaction.

Tests are available for certain types of food intolerances and these can be helpful for providing guidance as to which foods may be causing problems. Removing possible trigger foods from the diet and supporting digestive wellbeing can bring relief to a whole range of symptoms as discovered recently by a lady in my clinic.

Mrs M had been suffering with a bloated grumbling stomach, chronic low energy levels and poor concentration for many months before deciding to change her diet.

We carried out a simple food intolerance test using a pinprick blood sample which highlighted dairy and corn as being intolerances. I then put together a nutrition plan for her, focusing on dairy and corn alternatives such as almond, coconut, soya and oat milks; oats, buckwheat and quinoa.

It is important to emphasise the wide variety of foods which are safe to eat when changing diets; including plenty of tasty alternatives means you won’t miss the other foods. We also included foods rich in magnesium, B-vitamins, zinc and healthy fats to support her energy levels and concentration.

One month later Mrs M returned for her follow-up session and was delighted to report huge improvements in her energy and concentration levels and smooth, comfortable digestion. She felt so much better for avoiding dairy and corn and didn’t miss them at all.

Sally is a York based Nutritional Therapist who enjoys helping people make positive changes to their health and wellbeing. Find out more at nutritioninyork.co.uk