Food intolerance testing is something I do a lot with my patients, as they are implicated in so many conditions and health issues such as digestive health, IBS, reflux, IBD, asthma, eczema, hayfever, acne and other skin conditions, mood and behaviour. We do our testing via a super simple finger prick blood tests that is able to test you for 96 different foods, and bring back comprehensive and scientific results in 2-3 weeks.

Usually when we test a patient for food intolerances, they might come back with a handful of foods they’re reacting to. With a simple result, we take them out for 2-3 months (short term – the point is NOT to restrict your diet permanently), do some work balancing the gut’s immune system & rebuilding the gut lining & we’re able to move on relatively quickly.

And then sometimes results like this come along.

This poor patient is reacting to pretty much Every. Single. Food. And yes, the common culprits are there (dairy & gluten), but they’re even reacting to lettuce. It doesn’t surprise me, they presented with multiple poorly controlled autoimmune diseases (and just FYI, there isn’t an autoimmune disease out there that doesn’t have a scientifically validated link to some sort of gut disturbance).

What’s interesting to note is this patient didn’t actually have any gut symptoms like bloating or altered bowel motions. So I wanted to share some of the non-gut related symptoms you may experience from food intolerances:

– Mood changes
– Poor memory & brain fog
– Headaches & migraines
– Fatigue
– Reduced immunity – chronic or recurrent colds & flus, especially sinusitis and tonsillitis
– Joint & musculoskeletal pain

And the conditions I commonly see associated with food intolerances and leaky gut include:

– Eczema & acne
– Endometriosis
– Autoimmune conditions – especially Hashimoto’s, Psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis & Rheumatoid Arthritis
– Cardiovascular disease, dyslipidaemia & fatty liver
– Mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, ADHD & ASD
(plus of course gut conditions such as diverticulitis, IBD, IBS, SIBO etc).

And another FYI, I don’t think food intolerances are the beginning, middle & end of gut health. In fact, I tend to view them as a symptom of a larger problem and not the cause of the issues, which is usually dysbiosis of the gut microbiome (i.e. an imbalance of gut bacteria). So given the extent of this patient’s issues, I’ll likely recommend stool microbiome mapping at some point. But I also don’t think you can heal from gut issues without treating food intolerances as part of the bigger picture.

If you’re interested in food intolerance testing this is something we’re able to do for you in clinic. Results are back within three weeks, at which point we can start working on the right treatment protocol for you so you don’t end up on a restrictive diet long term. Please reach out for more information and book online via our website.

Ali Berecry | Naturopath