FAD WATCH Health Crazes Under the Spotlight This Week: Food Allergies

THAT’S NOT A FAD, IT’S A SERIOUS CONDITION

Too right it is. Only with some sufferers, it’s a psychological one.

About 30-per cent of us believe we have a food allergy . . .

YEP, I’M ALLERGIC TO DAIRY PRODUCTS. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING ME CHOCOLATES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

I’ll buy you a new book instead. Health Food Junkies by Steve Bratman to be precise. You, my friend, are a classic example of an orthorexia nervosa sufferer.

ORTHO-WHAT?

Orthorexia, a new type of eating disorder. The term was coined by Bratman, a Colorado doctor, for the increasing number of people fixated with dietary purity. In the UK, about 20-per cent of the population believe they are allergic to wheat, dairy products or both, but according to the British Allergy Foundation only 1-2-per cent really are.

BUT I MUST BE ALLERGIC – I GET SO TIRED WHEN I DRINK TOO MUCH MILK

Steady on. Real dairy allergies are a terrifying business. The faintest trace of cheese can lead to an overblown immune response, followed by anaphylactic shock and even death. Sufferers carry adrenalin shots wherever they go.

SO IT’S A MILD ALLERGY . . .

Yeah and I’m mildly pregnant.

You’re not allergic, what you think you have is a food intolerance, which is different. About 45-per cent of us claim to have one. Food intolerance can cause headaches, fatigue and indigestion, and, in extreme cases, migraine, vomiting and irritable bowel syndrome.

The most commonly cited culprits are dairy products, nuts, sweets and chocolate, food additives, fruit and vegetables.

THAT’S WHAT I’VE GOT, THEN. I’M IN GOOD COMPANY. DID YOU KNOW THAT MILK MAKES POSH SPICE VOMIT TOO?

Well here’s another fact.

Researchers believe up to nine out 10 “sufferers” have fantasy food intolerance. In one test, groups surreptitiously fed foods – disguised in soup – to which they were “allergic” showed no ill effects whatsoever.

In another study, at the University of California, people were told – falsely – that a particular food had previously made them ill. Many later reported a specific intolerance to that food. It would seem orthorexia is contagious.

SO HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME ORTHOREXIC?

People who feel either fatigued or lethargic or who gain weight find it more appealing to blame a food group than look into the wider causes of exhaustion, eg lack of exercise, dehydration or work- related anxiety.

A University of Birmingham study found that people feeling sick one day would habitually blame it on the food they ate the night before.

ISN’T THAT DANGEROUS?

It gets worse. To test their selfdiagnosed “allergy”, people put themselves on elimination diets without considering the nutrients they might be missing out on. A 2002 study showed more than 40-per cent of women have eliminated specific foods from their diet for this reason. They are often encouraged by skinny celebrities who define themselves by the foods they don’t eat. For example, Gwyneth Paltrow’s macrobiotic diet eschews both wheat and dairy products.

NO CORNFLAKES FOR HER, THEN

Indeed, but if you don’t think it through, banning milk and cheese could cause a severe shortage of calcium, which could in turn lead to osteoporosis.

Boycotting wheat products may cut down the carbs but it might also leave you short of B vitamins and, more importantly, fibre, essential for a healthy gut.

Cereals also contain trace elements such as iron and folic acid, which reduce chemicals associated with heart disease. It’s a big risk to assume you have a food intolerance when you don’t.

SO HOW DO I FIND OUT IF MY FOOD INTOLERANCE IS REAL?

With great difficulty. There are now thousands of “allergy experts”, many with few, if any, recognisable qualifications. Also beware of allergy test kits, which measure resistance to food in ways such as using electrical currents or looking at which way your arm swings when food is dropped on your tongue. Such methods have attracted widespread ire from registered dieticians, who point out that once an allergy has been “diagnosed” and the elimination diet begins, it is hard persuading these victims that their hair loss, poor concentration and general malaise are due to malnutrition.

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

Visiting your doctor. They will be able to identify if your symptoms could be unrelated to food and refer you to a dietician if they are.

However, waiting lists are often long, so Allergy UK recommends the York Test (www. yorktest. com) which involves paying a nurse to take a blood sample for analysis.