Developing Food Intolerances

Can you develop a food intolerance to something you’ve previously eaten without a problem? It’s a common question, particularly when symptoms appear unexpectedly or foods you’ve enjoyed for years suddenly seem to disagree with you.

In today’s blog, leading food allergy and intolerance industry expert Dr Gill Hart talks about how people develop food intolerances and some of the factors that may play a role.

Can You Develop a Food Intolerance?

Yes, it is possible to begin experiencing problems with foods that you’ve previously eaten without noticeable symptoms. However, food intolerance is a broad term, and there isn’t one single reason why a person’s response to a particular food may change.

Some intolerances have well-understood causes. Lactose intolerance, for example, occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough lactase, the enzyme required to digest lactose. Lactase levels can decrease over time, meaning symptoms can develop later in life.

Other reactions to food are more complex, with factors including your digestive health, diet and wider health potentially influencing how you respond to particular foods.

An obvious place to start looking is the digestive system.

The Digestive System and Food Intolerance

Our digestive system plays an important role in both digestion and immune function.

Our gut lining acts as a highly selective barrier that helps protect our internal environment. It helps prevent potentially harmful substances from passing through while allowing essential nutrients and digested food components to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

This balance between the efficient passage of nutrients and restricting the entry of other substances is important for maintaining normal digestive function.

Changes in the intestinal barrier and increased intestinal permeability — sometimes informally referred to as “leaky gut” — have been associated with a number of gastrointestinal and inflammatory conditions.

Research continues to investigate how intestinal permeability, the gut microbiome and immune responses interact. However, the relationship is complex, and increased intestinal permeability shouldn’t be considered a single established cause of food intolerance.

What Can Affect Your Digestive Health?

There are many factors that can affect your digestive system.

These can include gastrointestinal infections, certain medications, diet, alcohol intake, stress and underlying digestive or inflammatory conditions. Genetics, age and other individual health factors may also influence how your body responds to particular foods.

Diet can also influence digestive health. Eating a varied and balanced diet helps provide the nutrients your body needs, while dietary patterns can also influence the composition of your gut microbiome.

Stress and anxiety can affect the digestive system too. The gut and brain communicate closely through what is known as the gut-brain axis, and periods of stress can affect processes such as digestion and gut motility.

This doesn’t necessarily mean these factors will cause a food intolerance. Instead, they demonstrate why changes in digestive symptoms can have numerous possible explanations.

What Are the Signs of a Food Intolerance?

Food intolerance symptoms vary between individuals and depend on the underlying cause. Commonly reported digestive symptoms can include:

• Bloating
• Abdominal discomfort
• Excess wind
• Diarrhoea or constipation
• Nausea

However, these symptoms aren’t exclusive to food intolerance. Conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and coeliac disease can cause similar problems, so persistent or unexplained symptoms shouldn’t automatically be attributed to a particular food.

What Can You Do if You Think You’ve Developed a Food Intolerance?

If you regularly experience symptoms after eating, looking for patterns between your diet and how you feel can be a useful starting point. Keeping a food and symptom diary may help you identify foods or situations that appear to coincide with your symptoms.

You can also consider identifying foods in your diet that your body may be reacting to and making informed dietary changes.

YorkTest’s Premium Food Intolerance Test measures food-specific IgG reactivity to over 200 food and drink ingredients. Your personalised results can provide additional information to consider alongside your diet and symptoms, with nutritional guidance available to help you make informed dietary changes.

Food-specific IgG results don’t diagnose a food intolerance, and unnecessarily removing large numbers of foods from your diet isn’t recommended. If you’re experiencing persistent, severe or unexplained symptoms, speak to your GP.

Understanding Changes in Your Diet

Developing symptoms after eating a food you’ve previously tolerated can be confusing, but the way our bodies respond to food can change over time.

There isn’t always one simple explanation. Changes in digestion, health, diet and other individual factors can all be relevant, which is why looking at the wider picture is important.

By paying attention to your symptoms, understanding your diet and seeking appropriate support where necessary, you can make more informed decisions about the foods you eat and your wider digestive health.