Food Intolerance

 And I'm not talking about food allergies here, because there is a pretty big difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance.

Food allergies only affect about 1 to 2 percent of the population, whereas food intolerance occurs in up to 20 percent of the population. "With allergies, symptoms can be very dangerous and even life-threatening. A food intolerance, on the other hand, is more likely to present itself with symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), eczema, migraine, fatigue, hives and asthma," says Muriel Simmons, Chief Executive of Allergy UK.

I would also add that food intolerances can potentially be the #1 reason many people are trying "everything" to lose weight with NO results...yup, its that's bad.

If someone is allergic to a food, you can see it pretty quickly...hives, itchy throat, severe reactions. Whereas, the symptoms of food intolerance...bloating, gas, fatigue, inability to lose weight...can take several hours and even days to show up, making you feel like you're in a constant state of digestive distress (Ugh, I remember feeling like that for half my childhood and teenage years...awful).

A food intolerance will also create a chronic state of inflammation inside the body making it a less than ideal environment for your metabolism to burn off unwanted fat...and that's exactly what you DON'T want when you're trying your best to change your body and change your health.

How do you know if you have a food intolerance?

The best way to discover if a food intolerance is the root cause of your inability to lose weight is to temporarily remove those foods from your diet for 2 weeks. You can then slowly introduce those foods back into your diet and see how your body responds.

The most common food intolerance culprits are wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and corn.

It may sound a bit overwhelming to think about eliminating all of those foods from your eating plan, but a meal plan similar to the sample below may really help you find out if a food intolerance is an issue for you.

Breakfast: Quinoa Porridge made with coconut milk, topped with walnuts.

Snack: Turkey slices (nitrite and nitrate free) with carrots and cucumbers

Lunch: Steak salad, leftover steak , shredded carrots and celery with olive oil and vinegar dressing, along with a small fruit salad.

Snack: Smoked Salmon over sliced tomatoes

Dinner : Roasted Chicken, sautéed spinach and baked sweet potato with butter.

Notice there is no wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy or corn included above, and the day consisted of a variety of delicious foods.

After eliminating the suggested foods for 2 weeks, choose one and re-introduce a small amount of it into 1 meal and pay close attention to how you feel. If the bloating, gas, indigestion (or whichever symptoms were affecting you the most) come back quickly, you know that food or all of them may not be the best choice food for you.