If you know me well, you'd know i'm a pretty picky eater. There are a lot of foods I won't eat because I feel like my body doesn't react well to them. But over the past few years a lot of my food decisions were being made on a hunch - was I eliminating foods I didn't need to? And eating ones I shouldn't? A lot of these questions had been unanswered for me over the past few years. Even though I have been eating what's considered a healthy diet I still wasn't feeling my best, and in an actual fact, right now I'm at the worst I've ever been in the health department.
Something just wasn't right.
So when the opportunity came up to take a food intolerance test with Pinnertest USA I jumped right on it. I had always wanted to take one of these food intolerance tests (which tests over 200 common everyday foods) for either a low, medium or high intolerance through a blood sample. I thought, finally I can pin point (pun intended) what it is I'm eating that my body just isn't happy with.
The process itself is so damn easy, they sent me a kit (they do free shipping worldwide) which has all the instructions and a little pin pricker with a blood collection pad. From someone that absolutely hates needles and almost always ends up needing to lie down after any blood test just to regain my composure, the taking of blood literally consists of a simple pin prick and a few droplets of blood left on a collection pad. Then you just close it up, fill out the form and pop it all back in the pre paid envelope and wait to receive the results via email, 2 weeks later.
Now before we delve into MY results, lets talk about what Food Intolerance's are, how they're different to allergies and the not so fun symptoms involved.
Whats a Food Intolerance?
A food intolerance occurs when our bodies cannot properly digest and convert the foods we eat into the necessary nutrients required to fuel our system. So when you're intolerant to a food your small intestine can't break it down properly, the protein in that food can't be converted to amino acids or nutrients. It then starts to accumulate in the gut and eventually makes it's way to the blood stream. Which is a big no no.
Our immune system then identifies these partially broken down proteins as intruders all alarms go off and they attack. This attack then leads to inflammation in the gut. We all know a healthy gut is a healthy body so when the gut is inflamed, the body follows.
What are the symptoms of food intolerances.
There are many side effects when it comes to dealing with food intolerances. One of the more common side effects is weight gain, due to the deplete levels of serotonin (a powerful chemical, that is responsible for keeping our moods stable, libido thriving, memory and digestive system working at it's best. But more importantly serotonin also acts as the natural appetite suppressant. Its the hormone that tells us when we are full and to stop eating. When your body is fighting a food intolerance, serotonin production decreases dramatically which leads us to intense carb and sugar cravings. So the vicious cycle of mood w=swings, depression, unwanted cravings etc all stem from the body's response to fighting off this food intolerance.
All of this aside here's a straight forward list of the symptoms that your body may be fighting a food intolerance.
IBS, Bloating and Gastrointestinal Problems
Brain Fog
Acne
Chronic Fatigue
Joint Pain
Whats the difference between an intolerance and an allergy?
A food intolerance and an allergy can something have similar symptoms, however the way they react in the body is extremely different.
The main different between the two is that an allergy will show up almost immediately after inhalation or consumption of a particular substance. Whereas food intolerances are more deceptive, and are not always as obvious or instant. Depending on the individual, symptoms can sometimes arrive anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of days! And by that time, it's sometimes hard to pinpoint what it is you ate that cause these symptoms.
My results?
Below is the exact copy of my results. Now bear in mind this tests for reactions to certain foods in the blood, so if it's not in my system i'm sure my body can't react to it. Had I known this I most likely would've eaten everything under the sun before the test so I could see if for example I am intolerant to Cows milk, because I can't guarantee this hasn't been in my system for a while.
I'm pretty surprised at some of the results, however I did have a sneaky suspicion about the Peanuts, and definitely knew about the Garlic. But rather sad about the cashews, as most vegan desserts/bars have cashews in them. Spelt and Pinto beans were something that I must've been eating by accident because I definitely don't put it in my meals at home. (Perhaps the spelt was in some bread I ate and pinto beans from a veggie pattie or some Mexican food)
All in all, I'm pleased there are no vegetables or fruits I'm intolerant to. Over the past few weeks I've experimented with removing these high reaction foods from my diet. I recently ate cashew butter by accident (it was in a protein bar) and definitely noticed a flare up of IBS straight after. Garlic I avoid like the plague as I get a crazy hangover from it but this is sometimes hard to avoid when eating out so Im still dealing with the side effects of this, but the other foods? I'm happy to live without.
And just because I can't eat Peanut's doesn't mean I can't still call myself Peanut Head! The name is definitely staying. :P
**If you're curious about food intolerances or sensitivities, check out Pinnertest USA + use code PEANUTHEAD for $60 off your test and Free worldwide shipping.
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