It is important to know that if you think you might have a food intolerance to bread, this will mean that you are reacting to the wheat, gluten or yeast proteins present in the bread, not the bread as a whole. You can try taking bread out of your diet on its own, as many people do, and may you may start to feel better. However, if you have a wheat, gluten or yeast intolerance then there will be other foods that have to be removed and (carefully) substituted as well.

It’s really important with any elimination diet that you don’t end up nutrient deficient. For example, yeast can be found in many foods stuffs apart from bread; foods that include Marmite, vinegar, alcohol, ginger beer, stock cubes, antibiotics and supplements. Yeast can be hidden on food labels under the name of hydrolysed protein, hydrolysed vegetable protein and leavening. If you have yeast food intolerance then you may also be intolerant to fungi-containing foods such as cheese, mushrooms, peanuts and malt. Yeast can also be present on foods naturally. They often grow on the skins of berries and soft fruits. Those with wheat intolerance should avoid all wheat products, not just gluten-free products. Those with gluten intolerance should avoid all products containing gluten. If these foods are removed from your diet then they will need to be substituted with appropriate alternatives.

It is also clear that many people with food intolerance suffer reactions to a number of different foods types (their particular food intolerance “fingerprint” of foods), that may include wheat, gluten or yeast, but also other food or drink ingredients as well. Removing bread will only be part of a bigger picture and it takes an overall approach, including identifying all trigger foods and (preferably) a consultation with a Nutritional Therapist, not just the faddy removal of just one food type, to really tackle food intolerance symptoms properly.