20-21:Inside Pages 11/12/08 15:49 Page 1
Many people review their diets in
January with New Year resolutions but
for one - two percent of adults, food is
on their minds all year round.
Food Allergy and Intolerance Week
19 – 23 January 2009
Did you know it’s Food
Allergy and Intolerance Week
in January? Claire Stuckey,
Senior Dietician at the Royal
Bournemouth Hospital gives
intolerance tests. Often these tests are not
us an overview of the
reliable and can be expensive. For example,
difference between food
tests that monitor the response of your pulse
allergy and food intolerance.
when you hold certain foods and analysis of
And there’s advice for what
hair samples.
you should do if you think
you have one.
Coeliac Disease
One in 100 people suffer from something
Food intolerance and food allergy are rare and
called coeliac disease: a condition caused by
affect just one - two percent of adults and two -
an intolerance to gluten which is found in
eight percent of children. Food allergy is
wheat, rye and barley. This can only be
usually an immediate and severe response to a
diagnosed by having a biopsy of the small
food and results in an abnormal or exaggerated
bowel (a camera is passed down the throat
response of the immune system. Symptoms can
into the intestines and a snip of tissue is
include swelling of lips, mouth or throat,
taken). This is then looked at under a
vomiting, diarrhoea and rashes. Common foods
microscope. Symptoms of coeliac disease
that can cause food allergy are cows’ milk,
can include anaemia, tiredness, bloating,
peanuts, soya, eggs and seafood. Food
diarrhoea or constipation.
intolerance normally causes a less severe and
less immediate reaction to eating a food and
Many people self diagnose a food allergy or
does not usually involve an immune response.
intolerance and this can lead to unnecessarily
Symptoms vary from person to person but can
cutting out food groups from the diet. This
include nausea and bloating. There are a diverse
can put you at risk of nutrient deficiencies. If
group of foods that can cause food intolerance
you or your child are diagnosed with a food
including lactose, food additives and caffeine.
allergy or intolerance then you may need to
seek advice from a qualified Dietician so that
How do I know if I have a food allergy or
they can check your diet is nutritionally
intolerance?
balanced.
Food allergy can be tested for in three different
ways. Firstly, blood tests that involve monitoring
the immune response to a certain food.
Secondly, the skin prick test where your skin is
pricked with a small amount of the suspect
food. A reaction is shown by a red or swollen
spot. Finally the patch test can also be used.
This is where food allergens are placed on the
patient’s skin for two - three days to see if a
reaction occurs. There is no reliable way to test
for most food intolerances except by avoiding
suspect foods and then reintroducing the food
to see if you get a reaction. Be aware of
practitioners who undertake allergy and
20
HEALTH
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32