Food Intolerance V.S. Food Allergy

One of the best things Tom I and have been doing to stay healthy is going to LifeScience Wellness Center. We both got a preventive wellness package a few months ago that included several tests like Food Intolerance Test, Micronutrient Test, Hormone Profiling and Gene Testing.

Of all the tests we’ve undergone, the Food Intolerance Test (F.I.T.) was the most revealing and life-changing.

In a nutshell, when we found out what food we were intolerant to. When we avoided those food, we stopped feeling bloated and we felt good! The best part is that Tom used to have a sensitive stomach and has lived all his life with shooting pains in his gut everyday. After he found out that his body was intolerant to milk (not allergic), he shifted to using soy milk for cereals and for cooking and baking and avoided other food, the pain disappeared instantly!

As for me, I used to eat a lot of wheat pasta, bread and tofu because I thought it was good for me, but according to my F.I.T. test results, I was intolerant to wheat, soy beans and tofu. I completely avoid them and I never feel and look bloated (except when I drink alcohol, haha).

To further explain it, I’ve interviewed Dr. Ben Valdecañas, M.D., Medical Director LifeScience Center for Wellness & Preventive Medicine to give you all the lowdown on Food Intolerance Test.

Me: What is Food Intolerance Test?

Dr. Valdecañes: Unknown to us, our body may react disagreeably to certain foods that we know we are not Allergic to. Food Allergy is different from Food Intolerance. Allergy presents an immediate adverse reaction to certain food, such as rashes, wheals or swelling. On the other hand food intolerance is the inability of a person to digest certain kinds of foods. Reactions appear more slowly and can result in the person feeling very poorly.

Food intolerance is a mild inflammatory reaction of the tissue that is directly in contact with food, the gut. Swelling and edema of the gut can lead to intestinal discomfort and mal-absorption, causing our digestive system to malfunction unbeknownst to us, such as more gas formation, inadequate absorption of nutrients, and toxin staying longer inside our body.

JE: What’s the difference between Food Allergy and Food Intolerance?

Dr. Valdecañes: Allergy presents an immediate adverse reaction to certain food, such as rashes, wheals or swelling.  On the other hand food intolerance is the inability of a person to digest certain kinds of foods. Reactions appear more slowly and can result in the person feeling very poorly.

Food intolerance is a mild inflammatory reaction of the tissue that is directly in contact with food, the gut.

Swelling and edema of the gut can lead to intestinal discomfort and mal-absorption, causing our digestive system to malfunction unbeknownst to us, such as more gas formation, inadequate absorption of nutrients, and toxin staying longer inside our body.

JE: What does eating foods that you are intolerant to do to your body, short term and long term?

Dr. Valdecañes: The gut, the first tissue of contact, becomes inflamed and loses the ability to distinguish between nutrients and toxins, thus leading to mal-absorption.  Short term, symptoms of indigestion manifest as  bloatedness, hyperactive bowel sounds, flatulence, acid reflux, and sometimes diarrhea.  Long term effects are manifested more commonly by systemic malnutrition, such as frequent illness with propensity for bacterial and viral infections, chronic fatigue, inappropriate weight gain (increase in weight with minimal food intake or difficulty in losing weight despite best guided efforts), skin and hair deterioration, and bowel movement inconsistencies.

JE: How many times should a person get an intolerance test?

Dr. Valdecañes: The nature of the test itself, detecting the immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in the blood to specific food substances, necessitates it being done only once (the capacity to produce antibodies in reaction to a food antigen is genetically-coded and does not generally change) .  However, just like any medical laboratory examination, it can be used to test and monitor response to interventions.  If a patient’s symptoms do not improve despite avoidance of the food intolerance, then our physician can recommend running the test again to check if the antibodies are decreasing in response to the abstinence. If antibody count decreases but the symptom do not abate with it, then our physician will have to look for another reason causing the symptom.  For example, a patient presents with unexplained seasonal skin rash, food intolerance test shows him intolerant to rice, he completely omits rice from his diet and yet rash continues to recur, a repeat food intolerance test can be done to check if antibody count to rice decreased.  If it decreased, something else is causing the rash.  (Note: If in a rare instance antibody to rice does not decrease despite truthful avoidance of it, there is another food item in his list of intolerances cross-reacting with rice antibodies.)

JE: Can intolerance be managed? How?

Dr. Valdecañes: The best way to manage intolerance is to avoid the food intolerant to altogether.  Just like there is no true desensitization to a substance that causes increase in immunoglobulin E (IgE) in allergies, there is no true getting over food intolerances (IgG); it’s just a matter of increasing a person’s tolerance for the food reaction if he keeps on ingesting the food he is intolerant to.  And this could have unhealthy effects which are not always immediately detected.

JE: How FIT and Nutrition can work together to improve health, give examples

Dr. Valdecañes: There are those who cannot explain weight loss or gain until they realise they have been ingesting food they are intolerant to which leads to malabsorption and malnutrition. Therefore, armed with the knowledge of which foods a person is intolerant to, a person can better design/modify his/her daily diet and meal plan towards better health. Another benefit of knowing your food intolerance is being able to determine what kind of vitamins you need to take because you cannot get these vitamins from food. Customizing your supplements helps you maintain the vitamins and nutrients in your body at the right level, especially those that you can get from food due to intolerance.

An example would best be an actual obese patient who cannot understand her very slow weight loss despite aggressive dietary caloric restriction, adequate exercise, and appropriate hormonal imbalance correction.  It turns out after food intolerance testing that she is intolerant to wheat (which she used to substitute for her rice); the wheat causes inflammation in her intestines that may have caused inadvertent absorption of unwanted food substances that can contribute to obesity (possibly more fat absorption); inflammation of the lining of our gut takes away its discriminatory capacity.

How to Get a Food Intolerance Test at LifeScience:

Step 1: BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.

Call us at (02)828-LIFE or at 0917-573-LIFE for your appointment schedule.

Step 2: CHAT WITH OUR HEALTH EXPERTS.

For 1 ½ hours, you and our physician, nutritionist, and kinesiologist would discuss your health goals, medical history, current medication, and lifestyle. They would evaluate these factors and make their recommendations.

Step 3:  LAB TIME!

In our lab, our medical technologist would quickly prick the tip of your finger to extract just 0.5 ml of your blood. Fasting is not required.

Step 4: UNDERSTAND YOUR TEST RESULTS.

Come back after two weeks to get your FIT results and understand what it means. Your attending physician would summarize the results for you and your nutritionist would further assess your dietary eating habits. With these new info, we can then make a customized eating plan for you.

Your nutritionist could also make a more comprehensive Nutritional Program for you (i.e. Preventive, Therapeutic, Weight Management or Sports-specific) based on your health and nutrition goals. It would include a diet plan, nutritional consultations, food coaching based on your food journal and regular monitoring.

Step 5: GET YOUR CUSTOMIZED EATING GUIDELINES.

Come back to the LifeScience center after one week and get your customized eating plan and/or nutrition program. You’ll have another round of health chat with our nutritionist so she can explain these to you in detail.

The program will include a diet plan, nutritional consultations, food coaching based on your food journal and regular monitoring.

Shoppingero/shoppingera, visit LifeScience now!

LifeScience Center for Wellness & Preventive Medicine is located at the 8th Floor, ACCRA Law Tower, 2nd Avenue corner 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, 1634, Metro Manila; Book appointments now at +632 828-LIFE (5433).