Fiona Veitch Smith

When God stocked the world with edible plants and animals, he said that it was good. Adam and Eve were told to eat from any tree in the garden, bar one. But, as they were soon to discover, too much of a good thing could be harmful.

According to Alex Gazzola, health writer and author of Living with Food Intolerance, staples of the Western diet such as wheat and dairy products may provoke adverse reactions ranging from upset stomachs and rashes to tiredness and migraine. It is often food that we overdose on that contributes to intolerance. Unlike food allergies, however, food intolerances can often be managed by cutting down on foods or avoiding them for a while, rather than excluding them permanently from our diets.

Estimates of the number of sufferers in the UK differ wildly from 2% to 60% of the adult population. Whatever the true number, we didn’t have to go far to find three women who suffer from some or other form of intolerance.

Wheat intolerance

Twenty-eight-year-old Kelly Anderson-Whaling from Newcastle upon Tyne, is typical of many people with food intolerances. “My symptoms started three years ago when I moved out of my mam’s house. Instead of the well-balanced diet I was used to, I started eating lots of pasta. I noticed that three or four hours after eating, I would get gripey pains and either diarrhoea or constipation.” Her symptoms got progressively worse and she noticed that eggs, dairy products, rice and bread also caused adverse reactions.

After a year of living with her symptoms, she went to her GP who said she might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, often linked to food intolerances, and suggested she stay off the offending foods for a while. She did and had almost immediate relief. She stayed on the diet for around eight months, but then started to slowly introduce the foods again. “I’m trying to find the right balance,” said Kelly. “I find that if I have more than one egg a week, I start to feel poorly. Pasta still causes problems, so I stay away from it.”

“Kelly’s experience is a common one,” says Alex Gazzola. “People lead busy lives, don’t feed themselves properly and suffer intolerance reactions. The cure, quite often, is boring and cheap: healthy, varied, home-cooked meals, carefully prepared and eaten slowly. It looks like she has a mild wheat intolerance, which became more serious when she began over-eating pasta. In Britain we mistreat pasta by overcooking it. We also eat too much in one sitting – massive, overflowing platefuls. To Italians, this is unthinkable. Very modest portions, cooked al dente, will ensure better digestion. Kelly is right in aiming for a balanced diet and moderation. I’m sure she could try a small portion of pasta at some point in the future without negative side effects.”

Gluten intolerance

Elizabeth Lawson, 42, from Bedlington in Northumberland, has a far more severe form of intolerance. Her symptoms started when she was 7, feeling ill whenever she had milk, a classic sign of lactose intolerance. It re-emerged in her early 20s, so she cut out milk from her diet. But when she was 40, she noticed she also felt ill soon after eating any gluten-based products. ‘Gluten’ is the generic name given to a mix of proteins found primarily in wheat, but also in rye, barley and oats. To confuse matters further it is ‘hidden’ in less likely suspects as processed meat and vegetables (by way of batters and bulking agents), additives in condiments, various drinks including malt-based beers and rye-based spirits, and may even be found in certain medicinal ingredients.

“I began to feel very poorly with wind, constant abdominal pain, confusion and tiredness,” said Elizabeth. She noticed that her symptoms disappeared when she went to visit her mother. Her mother had been diagnosed with coeliac disease 10 years earlier and kept a completely gluten-free house. Coeliac disease is an auto immune disease often diagnosed in middle age, triggered by gluten in the diet, with potentially serious repercussions of intestinal damage and weight loss. The symptoms may masquerade as gluten intolerance or wheat intolerance, so it is essential to consult your doctor if you experience recurrent digestive problems. Other possible life-threatening causes such as bowel cancer or a twisted bowel, also need to be excluded.

This is exactly what Elizabeth did, and after a series of tests it was confirmed that she didn’t have coeliac disease. However, her lactose intolerance was confirmed as she has a lactase deficiency – the enzyme that allows us to digest lactose (found in milk).

Migraines

“I don’t have coeliac disease, thankfully, but seem to have severe gluten intolerance. The consultant agreed that I should stay off gluten if it makes me feel better,” said Elizabeth. Worryingly, her 14-year-old daughter is showing similar symptoms including migraines. Her doctor says they will investigate further when she’s 18, but in the meantime, she’s also staying off gluten.

“It’s not as difficult as you would think,” says Elizabeth. “I just make sure I prepare all meals myself and avoid processed foods. I also make my own bread. Most supermarkets these days carry gluten-free products and alternatives. Even my church is trying to help us by getting gluten-free communion bread!”

“Elizabeth’s case of serious non-coeliac gluten intolerance is quite rare and, in some quarters, a controversial diagnosis,” says Alex. “But she’s wise to stay clear of gluten. It highlights the importance of going to your doctor, being referred to the right specialist and together reaching as clear-cut a diagnosis as possible, as well as excluding more serious conditions.”

Meat intolerance

Tammy Wright, 32, from Blyth in Northumberland, has an unusual meat intolerance. Initially, she couldn’t tolerate red meat, but over a period of 10 years, it progressed to chicken and fish as well. After a couple of years of treatment, including medically supervised exclusion and inclusion of meat, she and her doctor agreed that it would be better if she stuck to an exclusively vegetarian diet. “I have recently discovered that I am increasingly unable to eat wheat, potatoes, quorn products and grapes,” says Tammy, a mother of two. “I mainly cook my meals separately from the rest of the family, but we eat at the same time. I am lucky that they like vegetarian meals and we do sit down and eat the same thing at least once a week. Shopping is a nightmare as we have to always look at the labels to make sure there are no hidden animal derivatives, wheat gluten or potato starch.”

“The intolerance to potato starch is extremely unfortunate,” says Alex, “as it is used as a wheat replacement in lots of gluten-free products. She should experiment with gluten-free grains such as amaranth, quinoa and millet as well as a wide mix of nuts and seeds to replace the essential fatty acids she’s missing from not consuming fish. Pulses, seeds, chocolate and dark dried fruits will give her an iron boost necessary because of the absent meat.”

Kelly, Elizabeth and Tammy are all learning to live with their dietary limitations. For Kelly there is hope that she will be able to eat a full balanced diet again, which, after all, is what we all should aim for.

How do you know if you have food intolerances?

First appeared in Woman Alive as ‘When Food Makes You Feel Bad’, March 2006)