Intolerance Disease (Celiac Disease and Food Intolerance)

This occurs after eating particular food because the body does not have enough of the necessary enzymes to break down the food in one’s body during digestion.

Lactose intolerance

• This is due to not having enough of the enzyme lactase and find it difficult to digest products that contain lactose particularly dairy products, processed meats (eg, hot dogs, sausages, deli meats), various breads, salad dressing, margarine, certain cereals, and some processed potatoes.
• It most commonly presents in adolescents and young adults.
• Men and women are equally affected by lactose intolerance.
• In the adult women who are lactose intolerant regain the ability to digest lactose during pregnancy. This is probably due to slow intestinal transit and bacterial adaptation during pregnancy.
• It is most most common among African American, Hispanics/Latinx, and Asian persons.
• In white individuals vitamin D deficiency is associated with a genetic variance of lactose intolerance.
• Signs and symptoms typically occur 30 minutes to 1-2 hours after ingestion of milk-containing products and can last as long as 48 hours.
• Most patients who are lactose intolerant can ingest as much as 240 mL of milk without an exacerbation of their symptoms. However this can vary on an individual, so one should check their limits and stay within those limits.

Diagnosis Tests

The breath hydrogen test:

• Patients are administered lactose after an overnight fast, after which expired air samples are collected before and at 30-minute intervals over the course of 3 hours to assess hydrogen gas concentrations.
• A rise in breath hydrogen concentration greater than 20 parts per million over the baseline after lactose ingestion suggests lactase deficiency.

The lactose tolerance test:

• Serial blood glucose levels are measured after an oral lactose load.
• A fasting serum glucose level is obtained, after which 50 g of lactose is administered.
• The serum glucose level is measured at 0, 60, and 120 minutes.
• Failure of blood glucose levels to increase by 20 mg/dL suggests lactose intolerance.
• False-negative results occur in the presence of diabetes and false-positive results are seen in small bowel bacterial overgrowth.
• Abnormal gastrointestinal emptying can also affect the results of the lactose tolerance test.

Medscape

Celiac disease

• A bowel condition where one can’t tolerate the protein gluten.
• Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, which is used to make bread, pasta, biscuits and cakes.

• Food intolerance can occur to anything,  common examples include:
  • Peanuts
  • Shellfish
  • Nuts
  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Wheat
• The reaction can be delayed by up to 72 hours (food sensitivity) this makes it hard to identify while other reactions are instant and easily identified and can be life threatening.

Home test kits

• The only way to check for celiac disease and food intolerance disease is through several tests given by medical doctors, home testing kits do not provide accurate results and should be used as a guide.