Milk is one of the most widely consumed products in the western world. For hundreds of years milk has been used to make a variety of popular foods including butter, cream, yoghurt, and cheese. And even recent food processing has seen the rise of whey protein and casein which all contain milk also.
However milk is a product that many people are intolerant to without ever knowing.
Food intolerance can cause a variety of troublesome symptoms which cannot always be treated with medication. Some common examples are bloating, IBS and migraines which thousands of people the world over suffer with on a regular basis. However what is not widely known is that these symptoms can be a result of having sensitivity to food and milk can very well be one of them. However how do you know if you have food intolerance and more importantly how do you know which foods are causing you problems?
The most common method of determining whether certain foods are causing you problems is through an elimination diet. This works by restricting certain foods from your diet over a concentrated period of time and then monitoring for any changes in symptoms. If a food group is eliminated and in that time your symptoms reduce then you can form a conclusion that this food group is a potential problem. The problem with elimination diets is that they can take a very long time to conduct and it's difficult for you to form any concrete conclusions.
To get more accurate results an increasingly more popular method for determining food intolerance is by using a blood test. There are many such tests on the market however you should make sure that the test is from a reputable company and one that is CE marked meaning it has been certified the test meets the essential requirements of the European In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive. These simple blood tests are available in two main stages, one which determines whether you have food intolerance and one that can determine which foods you are intolerant to.
It is recommended that the first step taken is to identify whether you have food intolerance. This test is more cost effective and so depending on the results can help you plan the next step. If it is found that you do in fact have intolerance to food then the next step can be taken to determine which food groups is the root of the problem.
By understanding which foods are causing you problems you can begin to make dietary changes that can go a long way to relieving some of those troublesome symptoms. However make sure you always consult a doctor or a practiced nutritionist before making any major changes so as to ensure you are still able to get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients.
Author Resource:-
Dr. Gillian Hart is a Scientific Director for YorkTest Laboratories who have specialised in food intolerance and allergy tests for over 25 years. For more information visit www.yorktest.com or call 0800 074 6185.
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