UAE | Health

Food allergies a hidden scourge, say experts

The common low grade symptoms foods trigger range from eczema, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome to bloating.

By Mahmood Saberi, Senior Reporter
Published: 00:00 May 3, 2010

Image Credit: Guillermo Munro, Gulf News
While food allergy is sudden and dramatic, many of us are unaware that we have food intolerance for some of the things we love to eat - from breads, pies, cakes to even cereals and pizza, as the reaction is slow and might take anything from hours to even weeks. Food intolerance can cause the following problems (clockwise from top left): Asthma, Abdominal pains or bloating, Eczema, Anxiety or depression, Sinusitis or migraine and Fatigue.

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Dubai: Do your lips immediately balloon up when you eat shellfish or feel nauseous when you chomp down on a sunny-side up egg in the morning? Then you have food allergy.

While food allergy is sudden and dramatic, many of us are unaware that we have an intolerance for some of the things we love to eat — from breads, pies, cakes to even cereals and pizza, as the reaction is slow and may take anything from hours to even weeks.

The common low grade symptoms foods trigger range from eczema, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome to bloating.

There are many trigger foods today and there is some debatable research that says it is because of the way our foods are processed or the way we grow it, said Dr Heather Eade, complementary and alternative medicine department at the Dubai Mall Medical Centre.

"For some it could be familial tendencies," said the doctor, noting that these people could suffer from wheat and lactose intolerance. She said that patients are surprised by what shows up in the tests.

A number of food intolerance test labs have sprung up across the UAE as people apparently are now more aware that certain foods are affecting their health.

"Is what you are eating making you ill?" is the catchy question on the cover of a test brochure offered by Middle East York Test.

"The symptoms had not been so severe 20 or 25 years ago," said Dr Osama Al Babbili, managing director of the Lab. He, too, feels that it is due to additives and chemicals in our food or even because of genetic modifications.

He quoted a British study which showed that 45 per cent of the British population suffers from food intolerance. He said many people are unaware of their condition.

"You go to a gastroenterologist and you are given a drug and you feel an improvement for a day or two, and then the symptoms again appear. There is a general feeling that such symptoms are poorly or misdiagnosed by doctors.

Dr Al Babbili said food allergy is lifelong, while food intolerance can be cured within eight months to a year.

The lab takes a few drops of blood from you and tests it against 113 types of food. The test can cost anything between Dh1,190 to Dh900 at the various labs.

The burgeoning of such labs is because more advanced testing has been recently developed, says Dr Eade. She notes that if the condition is not treated then your immune system becomes compromised.

"Your body becomes unable to absorb nutrients, you lose weight."

Some people can also become deficient in iron or calcium and suffer a further series of health issues like anaemia or osteoporosis.

Many food-intolerant people are underweight because of their inability to get full nutrients from foods. Others can become overweight often from an interference with the thyroid gland causing a disruption in natural metabolism.

Besides a blood test, Dr Eade's patients follow a protocol for elimination of certain foods. Your skin is tested for electrical response to the foods. The foods are then slowly reintroduced in our diet and you are no longer intolerant to the trigger foods, she says.

Are you allergic to certain types of food ingredients? Have you, or anyone you know, had a bad allergic reaction due to eating the wrong food? Tell us what happened.

Comments (4)

Added 11:31 May 3, 2010

With a food allergy, the body reacts as though that particular food product is harmful. As a result, the body's immune system which fights infection and disease creates antibodies to fight the food allergen, the substance in the food that triggers the allergy.Food allergies can cause serious and even deadly reactions. I am a person who is allergic with beef and Egg. as soon as i eat these my body starts itching which makes me really uncomfortable. when approached and checked with the doctor i had done a small test where they extracted a small portion from my skin and when checked i was informed that i should stop eating beef and egg. it all depends on your intake.Sometimes a reaction to food is not an allergy. It is often a reaction called "food intolerance". Your immune system does not cause the symptoms of food intolerance. However, these symptoms can look and feel like those of a food allergy. all it matters is tolerance to avoid eating food taht is allergic to you even though it might taste sweet or look amazing.

Mathew Litty, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 10:55 May 3, 2010

The main thing is the awareness of the doctors and their willingness to petition the health insurance companies for such tests. If someone is having serious reactions like asthma or edema then the doctors should INSIST on the test to be done and the insurance companies have a responsibiilty to cover them. Right now, the best you would get is a temporary patch....a bottle of ibuprophen or some maloxx or some skin cream and you're considered 'taken care of' in the system here.

Donald, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Added 07:52 May 3, 2010

Unfortunately I have noticed this city/region is not equipped to offer healthy options for those with food allergies. Very few supermarkets for instance offer gluten free foods (those that do thank you!), and of the restaurants only the very best (and therefore expensive) have a clue what you are talking about when you mention the words gluten or wheat intolerance. I've been laughed at, ignored and lied to ("yes sir this is wheat free" - it wasn't) in all manner of restaurants here. This all comes down to the training of waiting staff and managers in the restaurants of the area which is on the most part totally inadequate. My experience is only with one (quite serious) intolerance, however as the article points out there are many more from dairy, lactose, nuts, salt, sugar, yeast, etc and the restaurant and super market owners should realise that there is a segment of the population here they are not catering to.

Andrew, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 04:36 May 3, 2010

i have food allergies with milk and corn.... every time i drink milk i get diarrhea and when ever i have popcorns while watching cinema, my lips get swollen, my eyes swell, even my hands swells up like balloon, i get rashes on my fore arms, and my whole body itches from scalp till toe.... and apart from food allergy, i have dust allergy as well, so i cant step foot on dirty floor or touch any thing covered with dust..for that reason i always keep my anti-allergy tablets 24/7 in my car, in my apartment, my pockets, and every easily accessible place for emergency reasons.

Afaq, Dubai, United Arab Emirates