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Understanding Food Intolerance and Its Impact on Skin Health

Writer's picture: Louise GouldingLouise Goulding

Updated: Oct 9, 2024

As a nutritionist, I frequently encounter clients who suspect they have a food intolerance. While many describe classic digestive symptoms like cramping, bloating, or irregular bowel movements, food intolerances can also manifest through other symptoms such as skin issues, brain fog, and joint discomfort.


In this article, we’ll explore the common signs of food intolerances, particularly their impact on skin health, and discuss how you can identify triggers and restore balance to your immune system.


What Are Food Intolerances?


Food intolerances, often confused with food allergies, are reactions to specific foods that can lead to a range of symptoms. Unlike food allergies, which can provoke immediate and severe responses requiring lifelong avoidance, food intolerances tend to involve a slower, more nuanced immune response. These reactions can be triggered by components such as lactose, gluten, or certain additives.


How Food Intolerances Affect the Skin


Many women experience skin issues at various stages of their life that may be linked to food intolerances. Symptoms can include:


  • Itchy or dry skin: Persistent rashes or eczema can be signs of food reactions.

  • Acne flare-ups: Certain food intolerances may trigger inflammatory responses, leading to breakouts.

  • Rosacea: Some women notice worsening symptoms when consuming specific foods.


This is because food intolerances can drive inflammation, histamine reactions, poor gut health, nutrient deficiencies and/or a stress response. All of which are underlying causes of skin conditions. Recognizing the connection between what you eat and how your skin feels is crucial for managing both your diet and your skincare routine.


Common Symptoms of Food Intolerance


The range of symptoms can be extensive, but some common ones include:

  • Altered bowel movements (bloating, cramps)

  • Fatigue after meals

  • Brain fog

  • Nausea or tightness in the chest

  • Joint pain

  • Cravings for trigger foods


Identifying Food Intolerances


A range of foods

The challenge with food intolerances lies in their often delayed symptoms, which can appear 1 to 3 days after consuming a trigger food.

This delay complicates identifying the culprits in your diet. Standard testing might not capture all reactions, in fact many clients come to me confused because they have negative results on a food intolerance test, even though are certain they react to it. But worse, it can sometimes flag foods that aren’t actually an issue, leading to the removal of complete food groups from the diet unnecessarily.


Testing for Food Intolerance and Sensitivity Reactions


Once you suspect a food intolerance, you can either do an elimination diet to temporarily exclude the suspected trigger foods, or you can explore testing to identify potential triggers.


One reliable way to assess food sensitivities is through blood testing. I recommend a lab that offers finger prick testing for reactions to 176 different foods, measuring IgG responses but also immune complexes (a sign that the food is actually driving inflammation in the body) to various foods, ingredients, and additives. By including the immune complexes it goes a step further than the ‘off the shelf’ food intolerance testing you can buy online. This is because they help to rule out false positives, and so the test only flags those foods which are actively driving inflammation.


This test also includes a gut panel which gives us an insight into the health of your gut – because ultimately it’s not whether or you not you have a food sensitivity that is important. But why. And it typically comes down to gut health. If you have an intolerance or sensitivity then it could be because you have a ‘leaky gut’, or an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in your colon, or a nutrient poor diet… even stress.


You can have a look at the test here


However, it’s important to note that this type of test won't identify non-immune reactions, such as lactase deficiency or histamine intolerance or coeliac disease.


Understanding and managing food intolerances can empower you to make informed choices about your diet, improving not just your digestive health but also your skin’s appearance and overall well-being. By taking proactive steps, you may find relief from uncomfortable symptoms and regain control over your health.



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