Many people do not suspect that they may have a food intolerance until they start playing sports frequently. Food discomfort can affect performance . Some cases of elite athletes such as Novak Djokovic, who is intolerant to gluten, are known. Sports nutritionists will give you a diet suitable for your physical condition and activity.
Dietary changes, stress, smoking, and other factors influence health. Try to eat a healthy diet, rich in natural, unprocessed foods. Even having good eating habits, there are cases where many foods are harmful to our body, influencing the development of some food intolerance.
Food intolerance is defined as the adverse reaction generated by the consumption of food. Studies indicate that it is due to certain deficiencies of digestive enzymes, pharmacological products present in food or unknown causes.
It is common to hear the term “lactose intolerance” , which occurs when the small intestine does not produce enough lactase. Lactase is an enzyme that causes any dairy product to be properly digested. In recent years, many people are developing intolerances to different foods. Do not confuse intolerance with food allergy.
Food allergies not only cause damage to the body with adverse reactions. These can cause a health risk, in the worst case, even death.
Fruits, vegetables and cereals are foods rich in vitamins and proteins, but some organisms do not take up these nutrients. This can be the reason for many ailments such as: nausea, vomiting, gas, diarrhea, irritability, nervousness or even headaches.
Different reactions to food
The body’s reaction or the metabolism itself can cause damage due to the inability to process the food we eat, due to its natural or processed components. This prevents a good digestion, assimilation and use of many substances.
We cannot confuse a poor intake with a food intolerance or an allergy to certain foods. Having a food allergy our body can react to that food and put our health at risk. Finding out where it comes from is only possible through medical studies to determine and confirm the root cause of allergies.
It also happens that, due to poor food processing or lack of hygiene in handling, certain foods can cause digestive disorders. Causing health difficulties such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, among others.
Food intolerance or food sensitivity as it is also known, is much more common than it seems, according to experts, it represents 10% of the population.
Many people are unaware that they suffer from a food intolerance and do not take any action until the ingestion causes health problems. When the digestive system no longer tolerates a food or its composition, the results are more or less serious gastrointestinal disorders.
Main foods that cause intolerance
Among the foods associated with food intolerance are those composed of lactose, fructose and gluten.
People who are lactose intolerant produce little of the enzyme lactase. This absence means that the individual does not metabolize or digest lactose, causing a gastrointestinal clinical picture.
In the case of gluten , intolerant people suffer from severe lesions in the mucosa of the small intestine. Due to an inadequate absorption of this type of protein present in cereals such as wheat, rye, barley and oats.
Fructose is the natural sugar found in fruits, and there are also more and more cases of people who have an intolerance to this sugar. The intestine does not absorb or metabolize it correctly and intolerance appears. It is found in honey, fruits, vegetables. Care must be taken as they add it to diet desserts or medications.
Obviously all its derivatives: flours, pasta, breads, sausages, cheeses, sweets, ice creams, even though they are taken in smaller quantities, they can wreak havoc on people whose bodies reject this type of food.
Living with food intolerance
Knowing that they suffer from food intolerance, many people claim that they cannot eat almost anything, but this is not entirely true. After learning about medical tests, some patients become depressed. They have the poor conception that they will no longer be able to eat almost any food.
Limiting eating only certain foods does not impair a good diet.
To assume to be intolerant to certain foods is to be responsible with our own organism. It is inconceivable to eat products that threaten our well-being and put our health at risk.
Stopping consuming certain foods opens up a range of possibilities to improve our eating habits. The substitution of flours or products with gluten not only allows those who suffer from food intolerance to identify agents that generate imbalance. Decreasing, for example, the consumption of sugars will keep us prevented from diseases such as Diabetes.
The important thing is to identify, through medical analysis and specialized tests, if we are intolerant to certain foods or substances and to start a diet or improve our habits. The specialists are the people authorized to give us a diet that, in each patient, may be different. It is the way to help us in this process with a biomedical approach for the benefit of our health.
