How to know if it’s a food allergy or intolerance making you feel lousy, from some of my own experiences.

The foods you eat affect the way you feel, both good and bad. Sometimes this is obvious and other times it can be more subtle. You may think that the food you eat doesn’t ‘sit right’ or make you feel good and yet you continue to have it, for various reasons. Often times people have a food allergy or intolerance and don’t know it, so they go right on eating the food. This week I hope to make this easier for you.

Do you ever feel bloated after eating?

Do you ever feel so tired after eating that you just have to take a nap? Or do you fall asleep early in the evening?

Have you ever noticed that you feel a certain way after a meal? Such as tired, heartburn, or gas?

Have you ever noticed your activity level or energy level changes after a meal? You feel lethargic or to the other extreme the inability to sit still.

Have you noticed that your hair and nails are dry and break easily? Or that your skin is dry and itchy and it is worse in the winter?

Is your child a late bloomer, or is it possible they are not growing due to a food allergy?

All of these can be caused by the food you eat, on a daily basis.

When this happens, you may be quick to say, oh I must be so tired, or not sleeping enough. While that may be true it can be more than that.

It is important to listen to your body; the symptoms you are experiencing are trying to tell you something important. Yes, there may be something wrong and you may need to visit a doctor about it. In addition, it is critical to look at what caused the underlying symptom in the first place. To get to the root cause of the problem, otherwise treatment can be just a ‘band aid.’

There can be several factors at play. The food you eat, your lifestyle and your level of happiness or contentment with your life. The schedule you keep during the day and how quickly you move through your meals plays a role. The foods you eat affect how you feel and your wellness, whether that is positive or negative.

The foods you buy and serve your family may not be as healthy as you think, especially if any of your family members cannot tolerate particular foods. They may have an allergy or intolerance to some foods.

What is the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance? This is a good question and it is commonly misunderstood. I had to learn it in my own life for what I was eating as well as for other family members. It plays a significant part in the foods you choose to eat. Here is what I learned, long before it was as prevalent as it is today.

An allergy to a food is an actual immune response. The body sees a food that is ingested as an invader, or foreign body that can harm it, so the immune system acts to guard against it. This causes certain reactions, some of which can be very serious, even life threatening. Some examples of these are: hives, rash, swollen throat, trouble breathing.

With a true food allergy, the particular food needs to be avoided completely. Sometimes it means not sharing utensils or other dishes used in food preparation.

A food intolerance is the inability to completely digest or break down a certain food, in the digestive system causing gas, bloating, heartburn and other bothersome symptoms.

With a food intolerance – some people may be able to handle certain amounts of the food by rotating the offending foods every 4 days. That seems to be the length of time the body can tolerate the food and digest it properly if given this infrequently.

While each person is different, you will want to and need to adapt to your own specific needs.  

How do I know if I have a food allergy and what do I do about it?

It can be hard to determine exactly what the culprit is, for many reasons. One being that no two people are alike and so there can be patterns, or general rules but no hard and fast rules about what foods cause what symptoms. It can be difficult to test for food allergies, people do not always react to the allergen in a typical skin test.

This was the case for me, where testing was recommended, then you are advised that it has limitations. I have participated in other health programs too, that suggest the same limit.

The best way to know for sure, and one that I have found easier to do is a food elimination diet, whereby you eliminate a suspecting food for a period of two weeks.

Sometimes food allergies run in families. So I would look there. If your immediate family members have problems with a particular food, that is a good place to start. When my father was diagnosed with celiac, much later in life, it was a moment to consider is this something that I could have.

One thing you could do if you prefer is to keep a food journal for a couple of weeks, where you note all of the food you eat and how you feel afterwards. This will help you determine if what you eat is making you feel bad, and you will begin to notice patterns.

Please note, that this in no way takes the place of seeing a doctor if that is what you want. This is what I learned from my own experience that you may find to be helpful.

I see people paying more attention to this in the winter, when the number of grey and gloomy days are far greater than the number of sunny and clear days, which also affects how you feel. It’s just another suggestion.

The most common foods that cause allergies or intolerances are gluten, milk, corn, soy and nuts.

Trying to eliminate these foods can be complicated because there are hidden ingredients in products making it hard to know exactly what things are made with. And to make matters more difficult, these ingredients can be in products you would never suspect like soy sauce and some medications, even some candy.

What you eat affects how you feel. Especially in winter when the days are cold, dry and grey. Paying attention to it and making some adjustments can make you feel better and sometimes quickly!

If you answered the questions at the start of my article and have realized that something you eat may be making you feel lousy, I hope you will take the time to go through the suggested steps to determine if it’s a food allergy or an intolerance. Use of the tactics I identified such as food elimination (paying close attention to the common culprits I listed), testing, looking at family history, and journaling can help you in this process — as well as seeing a doctor. Good luck and here’s to your health!

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Maureen Considine is Founder and CEO of Finding Your Way Coaching. A Master Coach with expertise in Income Acceleration, Business Development, Sales and Mindset, she is the Wealth Health Creation Strategist for entrepreneurs, executives, and other high performers. Maureen has over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing. She has helped hundreds of clients grow their businesses and reach their true potential using her unique, intuitive, and holistic approach. Maureen has a B.A. in Psychology, with training in mindset and the Psychology of Sales.