Do you REALLY have a food allergy/intolerance?!

snowgrrl83

I have a story that I would like to share.

You see, I have a cousin. She is 5ft4 and around 90lbs at 26 yrs of age.
She is clearly underweight to the trained eye... although, most people really just think that she has a petite frame.
As a teenager, my cousin was "normal" and maybe even slight overweight.

So what happened?
She started out being lactose intolerant. Great! No more dairy!
Then, one day, she told me that her gastro Dr. told her that she had celiac disease! No more gluten!
Then, last year, she decided that she was going to become vegetarian!

So, now, what does she eat? Rice cakes, veggies and the occasional fruit.

I had gastrointestinal issues of my own and when my Dr. (the same gastro specialist as my cousin) asked if there was any celiac disease in my family, I casually mentioned my cousin. He looked at me and sighed and said that she didn't have celiac disease when he had tested her...This Dr. probably didn't do it on purpose to reveal medical information about another patient.... but, anyway... that's beside the point to my story.


So, she's BUSTED! Her real intolerance is food... she has anorexia nervosa. Without hitting every criteria for anorexia nervosa and being severely underweight, I believe many people cut out food groups to lose weight.

Do you cut out whole food groups and tell people you have an intolerance/allergy in order to lose weight? How often does this occur?

Aeriel

I never thought I had any food issues, but I went to a naturopath this spring. I was constantly tired, drinking more and more coffee, which didn't help and was eating healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables and doing lots of exercising. Turns out, when she tested my blood for gluten intolerance, all my red blood cells ran screaming and linked up into chains to protect themselves. Long story short, gluten exposure was causing my fatigue, because my blood couldn't transfer oxygen efficiently chained together like that. Reduced my gluten intake dramatically, energy came back and now I rarely need a cup of coffee. I haven't had to eliminate gluten entirely, but reducing it has definitely helped.

Edited to add: this was all before I got pregnant.....now I am just tired because of that! :laugh:

SoDamnHungry

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

snowgrrl83

I never thought I had any food issues, but I went to a naturopath this spring. I was constantly tired, drinking more and more coffee, which didn't help and was eating healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables and doing lots of exercising. Turns out, when she tested my blood for gluten intolerance, all my red blood cells ran screaming and linked up into chains to protect themselves. Long story short, gluten exposure was causing my fatigue, because my blood couldn't transfer oxygen efficiently chained together like that. Reduced my gluten intake dramatically, energy came back and now I rarely need a cup of coffee. I haven't had to eliminate gluten entirely, but reducing it has definitely helped.

Edited to add: this was all before I got pregnant.....now I am just tired because of that! :laugh:

That's cool, its legit, you got tested and you're not lying... but, only 1% of people are supposed to have gluten intolerance according to scientific medical studies.
So what's up with this whole no gluten trend?

snowgrrl83

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

After having seen the Gastro doc, it was determined that I have IBS as well. That is the disease of "well, we can't really figure out why your tummy is always upset". Anything and everything can trigger it... dairy, fruits, veggies, MSG, carbs, fatty foods, etc. So I can't cut out anything, or I'd be cutting out everything.

Nessiechickie

thanks for sharing.
This story does not really surprise me.
I knew a girl on a site like this that had a list the size of your hand of "stuff" she had.
Everyday was a new one and i would just roll my eyes

snowgrrl83

thanks for sharing.
This story does not really surprise me.
I knew a girl on a site like this that had a list the size of your hand of "stuff" she had.
Everyday was a new one and i would just roll my eyes

There is a girl on my MFP friend list like that too...*sigh* and she's clearly underweight.

Nessiechickie

Maybe there is a disease for that...
isn't it a Hypochondriacs

snowgrrl83

Maybe there is a disease for that...
isn't it a Hypochondriacs

I think a lot of these people KNOW that they don't have an allergy/intolerance... they do it so that they don't get annoyed by other people that accuse them of dieting. A lot of people won't admit that they are on a diet. I know that when I wouldn't tell some of my closest friends that I'm on MFP and that I track my calories because I would get the whole "but you don't need to! you're already healthy, beautiful...blah blah blah"

I'll say it - I would never admit that I track my calories/intake/macros/vitamins/etc...

Nessiechickie

Maybe there is a disease for that...
isn't it a Hypochondriacs

I think a lot of these people KNOW that they don't have an allergy/intolerance... they do it so that they don't get annoyed by other people that accuse them of dieting. A lot of people won't admit that they are on a diet. I know that when I wouldn't tell some of my closest friends that I'm on MFP and that I track my calories because I would get the whole "but you don't need to! you're already healthy, beautiful...blah blah blah"

I'll say it - I would never admit that I track my calories/intake/macros/vitamins/etc...

Agree with you.

Aeriel

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

That is what my doctor kept telling me (IBS), without any real evidence to back it up. I noticed it improved when I stopped eating so many processed foods (ie: MSG added) but never disappeared. Now it is pretty much gone with the reduced gluten diet. I hadn't had an incident in months, until I had a craving for chinese food the other day and went to a food court instead of a restaurant. 15 minutes later, meal was thrown out, stomach was rumbling and the hunt for a bathroom became a race!

snowgrrl83

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

That is what my doctor kept telling me (IBS), without any real evidence to back it up. I noticed it improved when I stopped eating so many processed foods (ie: MSG added) but never disappeared. Now it is pretty much gone with the reduced gluten diet. I hadn't had an incident in months, until I had a craving for chinese food the other day and went to a food court instead of a restaurant. 15 minutes later, meal was thrown out, stomach was rumbling and the hunt for a bathroom became a race!

ewwwww.... hate it when that happens! I get that too..I even start sweatting.

bcattoes

Nope. I don't have any food allergies or intolerances. I don't tell people I do. I don't cut food groups from my diet.

slkehl

If she's anorexic, it makes a convenient excuse. She can avoid eating foods around people because she supposedly has these diseases. Quite clever, actually.

zestyzaftig

Yup. I have Crohn's Disease. Reactions from food intolerance is a very serious issue for me that lands me in the hospital. Right now I'm doing everything I can to save the eight inches of colon that is in bad shape (per colonoscopy and biopsies) after I had whole wheat pancakes a few months ago that started a runaway flareup cycle.

I worked with a girl who was a picky eater her whole life. She's overweight- close to 300 pounds. Suddenly, when in her early 30s, she developed "food allergies". Couldn't eat gluten, honey, apples, peppers. She can have all the dairy, meat, fried foods she wants, though, which were her favorite foods all along anyway. Oh, and she always refuses to eat leftovers. If a meal has been produced and is more than 20 minutes old, she simply will not eat it and will throw it away. Makes me sick. She's a narcissistic witch anyway, so I figured the whole initial 'food allergy' event was a ploy to get attention anyway.

nikilovesaxl

I'm actually lactose intolerant. My toilet can back me up on that one :embarassed: :laugh: :blushing: .

MissErinPaige

I really am allergic to nuts... BUT

When I was in treatment for my eating disorder years ago, there was a girl in there with us who was allergic to everything- but she said this so that she didn't have to eat the required foods they made us eat. They ordered her an allergy test and found out she was a liar and made her eat.

BosBruin5

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

^My sister does the same thing! It's pretty annoying. Especially when she decided to cut out carbs and gluten three days before we ran a 10K together. She barely made it through the race and felt awful for days.

vtmoon

I'm actually lactose intolerant. My toilet can back me up on that one :embarassed: :laugh: :blushing: .

This ^^^

Give me too much dairy and everyone around me will be running to the hills :-p

weathergirl320

i actually have medically diagnosed celiac disease. my cousin has it, my aunt has it, my grandfather had it, and my other cousin has it on my other side. lol. so i am the 1% haha

LivvyLinde

I went into the ER for severe internal pains, which was eventually diagnosed as colitis with a CAT scan. It stinks, though, because it seems like all the resources are saying that colitis actually makes ppl lose weight.... and I've only gained.

BeautyFromPain

I'm actually lactose intolerant. My toilet can back me up on that one :embarassed: :laugh: :blushing: .

This ^^^

Give me too much dairy and everyone around me will be running to the hills :-p

Horrible cramps, Plus I will be puking everywhere.
Doesn't mean that I don't just have soy milk/yogurt though.

meg7399

I would be very concerned about a doctor who did not keep the confidentiality of his patients. If he knew she was lying then he knows the truth, he shouldn't have told you. That goes against their code of ethics and HIPPA...not good.

carebear7951

I have IBS. My body is intolerant to being reasonable. I still eat everything, though. Nothing in particular seems to trigger it.

My sister is gluten free half the time and the rest of the time not. She said she *thinks* it makes her feel better. Sigh. Most of the time she doesn't feel better and we're all just inconvenienced.

After having seen the Gastro doc, it was determined that I have IBS as well. That is the disease of "well, we can't really figure out why your tummy is always upset". Anything and everything can trigger it... dairy, fruits, veggies, MSG, carbs, fatty foods, etc. So I can't cut out anything, or I'd be cutting out everything.

Yep. I was diagnosed with IBS as a child and it's only been recently that I figured out that just means they didn't know what it was (and since dr's don't like to admit that..they have a diagnosis!). Certain things do trigger mine though. Fatty foods, milk, eggs and probably more. Those are just the most obvious. And sometimes I can eat them and be okay and then it's like 1 more bite of the wrong thing and I'm hurtin' for certain. Frustrating!

That's really sad about your cousin that she has lied about these conditions in this way...I think it makes people not believe those who REALLY do have it. Like ADHD...everyone has it so a lot of people think it's fake or a discipline problem Nope. Just overdiagnosed and a convenient excuse! I think when people lie about medical conditions it cheapens the value of the condition for people who really do suffer.

Birdie

Tests are not always accurate for intestinal issues. I have had every test under the sun and they were all normal, yet I have a severe reaction to milk and wheat.

pkw58

I am allergic to grapes and grape products. Pretty easy to avoid.

nikilovesaxl

I'm actually lactose intolerant. My toilet can back me up on that one :embarassed: :laugh: :blushing: .

This ^^^

Give me too much dairy and everyone around me will be running to the hills :-p

Horrible cramps, Plus I will be puking everywhere.
Doesn't mean that I don't just have soy milk/yogurt though.

Mine always happens at like five in the morning. It wakes me up with the most intense pain. Its the worst feeling ever.

doubglass

That's cool, its legit, you got tested and you're not lying... but, only 1% of people are supposed to have gluten intolerance according to scientific medical studies.
So what's up with this whole no gluten trend?

I have a friend who is bona fide intolerant. He loves it that so many people "think" they have his condition. Because of this there are a lot more gluten free products on the market, greatly expanding his food choices. He just hopes it isn't a passing fad.

nascarbettie

I would be very concerned about a doctor who did not keep the confidentiality of his patients. If he knew she was lying then he knows the truth, he shouldn't have told you. That goes against their code of ethics and HIPPA...not good.

I couldn't agree more ^^^

I am very lactose intolerant. I've never lied about my condition. I've had issues with dairy ever since I got pregnant with my daughter 22 years ago.

BeingAwesome247

As far as I know I'm not allergic or intolerant to anything

There are foods I won't eat because they make me feel lousy afterwards - heavy, bloated, gassy - usually that's fast food or anything real greasy

I'm weird about chicken - just a preference thing - I won't buy or eat anything from Tyson but that's an ethical thing
Also, I ask places where they get their burger or steaks from - do they come fresh or frozen? If they come frozen I won't eat them, once again a preference thing. I refuse to eat veal

CrisAlex

Yes, I'm lactose intolerant. But there are so many other options so it's fine. If I drink regular milk, I will have the worst stomach pain and no one will want to be around me or the bathrooms I enter.