Being unable to tolerate a food can be very aggravating. A food allergy, by contrast, is easy to spot, as you will react very quickly after ingestion. But an intolerance takes longer to become evident, and the person who has it might not even realize the cause. Or you can go out of your way to eliminate certain foods, and still not discover what the culprit is. So, a food intolerance test can determine the culprit a lot better than food elimination.

The first legend that needs to be dispelled is that people who are intolerant to certain foods are allergic to those food items. Food allergies are not the same as having an intolerance to those foods. The symptoms of food allergies are usually strong and come on quite suddenly, whereas food intolerances usually cause symptoms that are less severe, and can take up to 72 hours to appear. By taking a food intolerance test you will quickly discover which are the offending foods.

With a food allergy, your body is in fact allergic to the food in question and the reaction is that of your immune system itself fighting back, very comparable to if you were allergic to pollen. With food intolerance, the immune system does not come into the picture.

Your body won't recognize that fact that it has been invaded by an outside substance. However, the places that usually work to eliminate food, like your stomach and intestines, are intolerant to certain parts of the food so will have an adverse reaction to those ingredients.

Food intolerance generally occurs because your body stops producing certain chemicals or enzymes that help in the digestion of that particular food. This happens to quite a number of us as we grow up. This is why so many people are lactose intolerant, as the enzyme produced to properly digest lactose actually decreases in production from the age of 2. It isn't until we are much older that we begin to develop symptoms, which are sometimes quite unpleasant.

You can find out what foods you cannot tolerate in a number of ways. You can do this by reducing your food intake to a small number of foods that it is known cause the smallest number of problems. It is common to begin with such foods as lamb, water and brown rice. If you eat only these foods for about three weeks, then you can begin to reintroduce other foods one at a time, every few days. You should keep a detailed diary and record any reaction you have. After 6 or 9 months you will probably have an clearer idea of which foods you cannot tolerate.

Another means of finding out which ingredients your system cannot cope with is the ELISA lgG test, specifically designed to determine food intolerances. More than 200 foods can be examined that way, with only a small amount of blood needed to do so. When you begin cutting out the problem foods, you generally discover that you are more energetic, you digest the remainder of your foods more easily, and sleeping is facilitated as well. Lots of people also enjoy the extra advantage of a quick weight loss!

Possibly one of the most frustrating things that you can suffer from is food intolerance. To start with, just because you cannot tolerate a food that does not necessarily mean that you have an allergy to it. In this case a food intolerance test is the logical way to go to find out what is causing your problems. When you are allergic to something, the body treats it as a threat and acts to eliminate the problem. An ELISA IgG blood test can determine any food sensitivities that you may have. Another unexpected benefit that everyone loves is rapid weight loss!