In my clinic I often treat young children with severe asthma. Some of them have a complete cessation of asthma symptoms after they stop eating dairy products. Other patients with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms get rid of them when on gluten-free diet.

What is food intolerance?

Food intolerance (also known as non-allergic food hypersensitivity) is an adverse reaction to some sort of food or ingredient that occurs every time the food is eaten, particularly if larger quantities are consumed. Food intolerance is not a true food allergy. Food allergy requires the presence of Immunoglobin E (IgE) antibodies against the food, and a food intolerance does not. Intolerance can result from the absence of specific chemicals or enzymes needed to digest a food substance.

Food intolerance is much more common than food allergy. The onset of symptoms is usually slower and may be delayed by many hours after eating the offending food. The symptoms may also last for several hours or several days.

What are the signs and symptoms of food intolerance?

Food intolerance is more chronic, less acute and often more difficult to diagnose than a food allergy. Symptoms vary greatly. They can include:

• General symptoms - fatigue, joint pains, dark circles under the eyes, night sweats
• Gastrointestinal symptoms – mouth ulcers, bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, intermittent diarrhea and/or constipation, irritable bowel syndrome
• Skin symptoms - rashes, eczema
• Respiratory tract symptoms – nasal congestion, sinusitis, cough, asthma
• Other chronic conditions

Food intolerance and weight gain

Food intolerance can also be linked to gaining unwanted weight. Foods with dairy can cause unhealthy bacteria`s overgrowth and produce toxins that trigger inflammation and swelling of the intestines, thus preventing normal digestion and causing weight gain. You can gain up to 30 pounds a year due to a dairy intolerance.

Diagnosis of food intolerance

You can eliminate chronic symptoms and the suffering they cause by identifying and eliminating offending foods and ingredients from your diet. But it is not always easy to identify the offending food. This is because the effects of food intolerances are delayed. You may remove the food from your diet, see if symptoms improve and then try reintroducing the food. If symptoms return, an intolerance is likely.

Homeopathy for food intolerance

Homeopathy often helps and cures food intolerance. Symptoms completely disappear with proper treatment. This seems to be in contrast to the usual medical approach of just eliminating the offending food or using digestive enzymes.

Homeopathic medicine aims to bring about a gentle healing and lasting cure by enabling your body to get rid of symptoms by working on removing the cause. All medicines given are specific to you and your set of symptoms, making homeopathy an invaluable treatment, regardless of the condition. Homeopathic treatment can help strengthen the immune system and are safe in childhood, pregnancy, breast-feeding and for people with chronic conditions.

Homeopathic medicines for food intolerance:

Main homeopathic medicines for food intolerance include:

• Intolerance to alcohol – Nux vomica
• Intolerance to wine – Antimonium crudum
• Intolerance to beer – Kali bichromicum
• Intolerance to oysters – Lycopodium
• Intolerance to fatty foods – Pulsatilla
• Intolerance to ice cream and cakes – Pulsatilla
• Intolerance to onions and garlic – Lycopodium
• Intolerance to fruits – Cinchona
• Intolerance to milk – Magnesia carbonica
• Intolerance to fish – Sepia
• Intolerance to chocolate – Lycopodium
• Intolerance to eggs – Pulsatilla
• Intolerance to potatoes – Alumina

Homeopaths encourage proper diet and lifestyle, yet the goal of homeopathic treatment is the freedom to be able to eat just about anything.