https://www.livekindly.co/pcrm-dairy-dietary-guidelines-usda
Dairy intolerance is the most common food intolerance I see with my patients. In fact, I see it on a whooping 80% of food intolerance testing!!! I do not like to remove anything permanently from a patient’s diet but if there are suspicions that certain foods are causing havoc in a patient’s gut, then I often request a food intolerance and/or allergy test for that patient.
Food and allergy testing is performed through certified laboratories via a blood sample which gives an accurate clinical picture of what foods should be avoided or minimised in the diet.
Your blood contains antibodies and white blood cells which are reactive against problematic foods. This type of clinical testing removes the ‘guess work’ that frustrates so many patients when trying to work out which foods upset them.
The other way of working out a food intolerance is to avoid specific foods for 3 weeks and then introduce one food at a time to see if there are any reactions upon the reintroduction of the food. The particular food that is being reintroduced should be eaten in normal amounts on the reintroduction day and then monitored for any reactions the next day. Symptoms of food intolerance’s can take a while to develop unlike food allergies which elicit a faster immune response.
NOTE- The above food challenge is not be be done on those with severe allergies who have not eaten a particular food for a long time. Reintroducing highly allergic foods needs to be monitored closely in case of anaphalaxis and other more severe allergic reactions.