What’s in your “free-from” food? – that is the question

Biochemist and industry expert Dr Gill Hart takes a look at “Free-From” foods and asks whether these convenience foods are really as healthy as they are portrayed

What’s in your “Free-From” food? – that is the question

The number of foods marketed as “Free-From”, for example gluten, wheat or dairy free is continuing to rise globally. This is partly through awareness due to improved labelling regulations, but also to rising health concerns, knowledge of specific foods intolerances in the diet and the search for conventional yet good-tasting “Free-From” products.

In the Ireland, interest has also been driven by the major supermarket Tesco who extended their “Free-From” food ranges including bakery and cereal products, sauces, pastas, milk alternatives, desserts, spreads, fish and meat products. In addition, more and more specialist suppliers are reaping the benefit; those with tailored “Free-From” ranges such as Mrs Crimbles gluten, wheat and dairy-free bakery lines, as well as alternative products from mainstream suppliers, such as Youngs Seafood’s launch of its first gluten, wheat and dairy-free fish fingers.

The choice available now is staggering, and food manufacturers, in producing products that are guaranteed “Free-From”, are having to think more and more creatively to ensure that the customer still gets what they expect in terms of the foods’ flavour and structure. What’s taken out has to be replaced with something else! For example methyl cellulose (E461) is used to add fibre and bulk to gluten-free breads, and as a thickener in dairy-free ice creams; all very well, but this compound is indigestible and can cause gut symptoms similar to those caused by food intolerances such as gluten-intolerance. Why swap one problem for another?

The solution? Well, all pre-packed foods must give a list of ingredients, so as you check the ingredients on a food product to see if it contains the food you need to avoid, you should also check the other ingredients too. It can take time to do your homework, but I have found the Foods Matter http://www.foodsmatter.com/ and the Food Standards Agency http://www.food.gov.uk/ websites really helpful when I have tried to find out whether I should be concerned about locust bean gum (E410) or carrageenan (E407)! I also check out levels of salt, sugars and fats on any labelling; “Free-From” doesn’t necessarily translate as “healthy”. Of course, foods that aren’t pre-packed don’t need to be labelled with the same information as pre-packed foods, so you might not be able to check the ingredients. These foods include those sold from a restaurant, bakery, deli counter or salad bar, sandwiches sold to be eaten straight away, and foods weighed and sold loose.

What about other solutions? It is well known that whenever a food is processed it loses some of its natural goodness. Furthermore, processed foods are not as easily digested as natural foods. By eating whole, natural, unprocessed foods you will get more vitamins and minerals. How do you define unprocessed foods? Well one way is to think about how many steps it takes for that food to get to your plate. For example, if you eat a bowl full of strawberries, nuts and seeds how many steps did it take to get those foods in your bowl? What about your wheat and gluten free museli? Or your dairy-free ice cream? I really don’t know how many steps that would be for all the ice cream ingredients to get processed, packaged and delivered ready to scoop but there are definitely a lot of steps involved. When you come to buy your “Free-From” processed foods, look at the number of steps, and the types of ingredients and see if there is a healthier, unprocessed alternative that you could use. This has the added advantage that you will always know exactly what you are eating!

I am not saying that all “Free-From” alternatives are unhealthy, it’s just that with a little homework in choosing processed foods with ingredients that are right for you, combined with a ‘back to basics’ approach to cooking appreciating the goodness that whole natural unprocessed foods can give, there are ways to tackle your food allergies and food intolerances that, I am sure, will give you an even better chance of improved health.

10 common myths about food intolerance

 Myth 1 - Food intolerances are very rare

Genuine food allergy is rare. Less than 2% of the population (and 8% of children under the age of 3) are affected. Food intolerance is much more common; a study conducted by the charity Allergy UK suggests that up to 45% of the UK population is affected by some kind of food intolerance (food-related symptoms). This means that your diet, however healthy it may be, could potentially be causing you problems.  The foods that can cause reactions vary from person to person and can cause a variety of symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, migraine, chronic fatigue, rashes and joint pain.

Myth 2 – Food allergy and food intolerance are the same thing

Classical food allergy (IgE antibody-mediated) is an immediate inappropriate and harmful response of the body’s immune system. An allergic reaction can occur quite rapidly, often within minutes but generally within a maximum of two hours. Food Intolerance is quite different, and not usually life threatening although it can, and does, makes the sufferer feel unwell. It is difficult to identify the food or combinations of foods that are causing the problem as symptoms can appear up to 48 hours after the food is eaten.

Myth 3 – You can diagnose food intolerances by cutting out one food at a time and seeing if you get better

Doctors and dieticians often recommend this approach, but it doesn’t work unless you are reacting to just one food which only a few people do, and even then where do you start? On average, people who have symptoms of food intolerance have reactions to 5 or 6 different foods. You have to cut them all out at once to see any improvement to your symptoms.

Myth 4 – You can diagnose food intolerances by keeping a diary of what you eat and how you feel

People tend to be sensitive to foods they eat every day, often several times a day. Symptoms of food intolerance are delayed, coming on hours, or even days, after eating the food. This means that the symptoms from one meal run into the symptoms from another meal. Add the fact that reactions to several different foods may be going on, and you can see that it is virtually impossible to determine the specific food culprits just from using a diary.

Myth 5 – All milk intolerance is due to lactose

This is a widespread myth. While lactose intolerance is caused by a reaction to the sugar in milk, it is NOT the same as milk allergy or milk intolerance. The fact is that some patients with milk intolerance are reacting to the proteins in the milk, and some people react to both, in other words, they have lactose intolerance, but also react to milk proteins. Lactose-free milk will not be beneficial in either case!

Myth 6 – All wheat intolerance is due to gluten

While Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to the gluten proteins found in wheat, rye and barley, it is NOT the same as an allergy or intolerance to these grains. Gluten intolerances can also cause symptoms that are not linked with Coeliac disease, however, they are very real.  There are also other constituents of wheat that can cause intolerance reactions, apart from gluten.

Myth 7 – Food intolerance can be treated by taking enzymes or probiotics

Digestive enzymes and probiotics can be beneficial, and (for example) treatment with lactase enzyme can be useful for lactose intolerance, as long as you use the enzyme in the right way. However, the majority of food intolerances are not caused by major enzyme deficiencies, and balancing the gut flora with probiotics will not get to the route cause. The most effective way to reduce symptoms of food intolerance is to identify the culprit foods using a blood test, and then to eliminate those foods from your diet.

Myth 8 - Once you have food intolerances you can never eat the offending foods again

The fact is that most people who have reactions to foods picked up by a food-specific IgG test  will get over the problem eventually, as long as they avoid their particular combination of culprit foods for a period of time, usually 6 months to a year. It is true that they then may need to be careful with their diet in future, but many people are able to reintroduce foods back in to their diet once their immune system has ‘reset’.

Myth 9 – Any of the many food intolerance tests on the market will help me find out which foods are causing my symptoms so I might as well choose the cheapest

There are many different food intolerance tests on the market, each claiming to identify foods to which people are reacting to. As food intolerance tests are not standardised or regulated then not all food intolerance tests on the market will give accurate and reliable results. The result is that people end up removing more foods from their diet than they need to, or miss foods to which they are actually reacting. It is therefore important to choose a test that has scientific data to support its use. The only food intolerance testing service available with endorsement from the charity Allergy UK is the YorkTest food-specific IgG antibody test. The reason for the endorsement is the clinical data to back up the test performance and the nutritionist support provided as part of their programme. The YorkTest foodScan has produced impressive results for many chronic symptom sufferers. A survey commissioned by Allergy UK of over 5,000 YorkTest customers found that over 3 out of 4 people enjoyed symptom relief as a result of acting on their test results, 68% of which found that relief within three weeks.

Myth 10 – Everyone has IgG antibody reactions to foods in their blood

Of those coming to YorkTest with chronic ill health symptoms only around 75% will have a positive IgG reaction to one or more foods; the reason why YorkTest offer an economical  First Step screening test.  Measurement of food-specific IgG antibodies is used as a strategy to identify foods to which an individual may be sensitive and validated tests such as YorkTest First Step and YorkTest FoodScan 113 are used by those with chronic conditions, and with Nutritionist support, as an ‘aid to management’ of dietary intake. It is also clear that some individuals can tolerate the presence of raised food-specific IgG levels without showing symptoms, the reasons for this are becoming clearer as more research is carried out, but in the meantime we recommend that only those with symptoms use the FoodScan service.

Ten Facts About Food Intolerance

 

1. Over 50% of those with food intolerance actually crave the foods that they are intolerant to.

2. 45% of people suffer from symptoms of food intolerance.

3. Each of us has a unique biochemistry and genetic make-up. Cow’s milk, nuts and yeast may be responsible for Eleanor’s eczema but safe for Gemma. Eggs, strawberries and lentils may contribute to Jonnie’s irritable bowel but be fine for George who has similar symptoms.

4. The average number of food types that people react to when they have food intolerance is 6 and it is virtually impossible to determine the exact combination of foods without a test.

5. Food intolerance is not the same as food allergy.

6. With food intolerance the delay between eating a trigger food and symptoms is usually about 2-3 days, but can be as long as 7 days…you can eat a food today, and the outcome of your immune reaction to it may only become evident in a week’s time!!

7. Did you know that if you are intolerant to chicken you may also react strongly to house dust – as they contain the same protein (tropomyosin).

8. Did you know that if you react to latex then it is likely you will also react to bananas, kiwi fruit and birch pollen.

9. Be wary of healthy foods too – 10% of people with symptoms of food intolerance are reacting to kiwi fruit!

10. It is often those hidden ingredients that can be the cause of your symptoms

Why is Food Intolerance on the increase?

45 % of the UK population are affected by Food Intolerance and this condition is on the increase.

There has been a 10 fold increase in the amount of people suffering from Food Intolerances in the UK in the last 25 years.

So why are we now reacting to foods that our Grandparents ate with no problem?

The answer is that we are no longer aware of what goes into the food we eat! Foods are now packed full of chemicals and additives to bulk out foods and give them a longer shelf life.

If you look back to the diet 50 years ago our food was fresh organic and we ate far less of it.

Meals now have a shocking amount of ingredients such as modified milk, artificial sweeteners, and chemicals all of this has been added into the diet over the last 25 years which has resulted in hyper sensitive immune systems that react to everything a person eats.”

Scientists blame the stress and pressure of modern life, food additives and pollutants for contributing to the increased amount of food intolerance sufferers that may go on to develop chronic inflammatory diseases such as irritable bowl syndrome (IBS), migraines and arthritis.

“There is a great deal of evidence that more people are suffering from food intolerance than ever before,” said Dr Gill Hart, scientific director at YorkTest

“It has been on the increase for sometime, it’s similar to the rise in people with allergies, although the percentage of people with classical allergies is only about 2.5 per cent whereas food intolerance is 45 per cent.”

If you are concerned about food intolerance, or have any symptoms you think may be related to food intolerance. Visit www.yorktest.ie or call 01 2022701 and speak to one of our food intolerance specialists.

Dr Gill Hart Quote taken from Food Intolerance could afflict half of the UK Telegraph 15th Oct 09

YorkTest revolutionises food-intolerance testing in Ireland

See us in the Sunday Tribune Sunday 7th November 2010

B vitamins slow brain shrinkage and age-related memory loss

The two-year randomised clinical trial is the largest to study the effect of B vitamins on mild cognitive impairment, and one of the first disease-modifying trials in the Alzheimer’s field to show positive results in people.

Around 1 in 6 elderly people over the age of 70 has mild cognitive impairment, experiencing problems with memory, language, or other mental functions, but not to a degree that interferes with daily life. Around half of people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia – mainly Alzheimer’s disease – within five years of diagnosis.

Certain B vitamins – folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 – are known to control levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood, and high levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.

The team found that on average the brains of those taking the folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 treatment shrank at a rate of 0.76% a year, while those in the placebo group had a mean brain shrinkage rate of 1.08%. People with the highest levels of homocysteine benefited most, showing atrophy rates on treatment that were half of those on placebo.

Along with rate of brain shrinkage, the team from the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing also monitored cognitive test scores, revealing that those with the slowest rate of shrinkage scored more strongly. The team suggests that, since the rate of brain atrophy is known to be more rapid in those with mild cognitive impairment who go on to develop Alzheimer’s, it is possible that the vitamin treatment could slow down the development of the disease. Clinical trials to test this should now be carried out, they add.

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