Vegetable Intolerance

Mad on avocados? Crazy for courgettes? As a society, we’re often told how important it is to get our daily dose of vegetables. After all, they may help to reduce the risk of heart problems, lower cholesterol, and give us our recommended vitamin intake. Research shows that these are just a few of the great health benefits vegetables might provide.

However, for some people, these colourful foods can wreak havoc. Prone to a sensitive gut? Certain vegetables are high-FODMAP foods, meaning that they could be harder for your body to digest and absorb – these should be avoided by those who suffer from IBS or other digestive issues. And then there’s the fact that you can in fact be intolerant to vegetables.

If you have a vegetable intolerance, you will usually be able to tell somewhere between a couple of hours and a few days after you consume the vegetable and begin to digest it.

How long it takes for a vegetable intolerance to show can differ depending on the scale of your reaction and the amount of the ingredient you have eaten. For example, if you have a chickpea intolerance, you may find that you will start to experience mild discomfort hours after eating a falafel. Nausea and bloating may follow the next day.

If you experience any severe symptoms, such as swelling or difficulty breathing, you should seek medical advice straight away –  it could be that you have a vegetable allergy which, as discussed earlier, can at times, be life-threatening.