As you start to get back into the swing of things now that the holiday is over, you may notice a few changes. Sure, perhaps you’ve put on a few pounds (who doesn’t?), or you feel like you’ve eaten entirely too much food (again, who didn’t). But, maybe it’s more than that. Maybe you unintentionally created a food intolerance by eating too much of one thing. You know that expression; “too much of a good thing”? It’s certainly true, and you could be dealing with symptoms of a food intolerance.
Symptoms of a food intolerance
There are quite a few symptoms of a food intolerance that can be easy to miss. A lot of people — especially since they were fine before the holidays — just apply them to part of the holiday hangover or simply being tired or ill. Here are some common signs:
- Bloating, flatulence and stomach discomfort: From stomach noise to bloating to increased flatulence, you’ll most often notice symptoms of food intolerance in the stomach. Since an intolerance is when your digestive tract struggles to digest food properly, it makes sense.
- Sensitive skin, acne or eczema:Another common problem is the issue with increased skin sensitivity. This could be a simple irritation on the skin surface to an actual flare-up of acne or a rash or eczema. Easily ignored as being a reaction to a topical cream or cold, dry weather, it’s important to take a look at these symptoms and understand where they come from.
- Fatigue or feeling ill:If you notice that you are feeling tired (mentally or physically) out of nowhere and also feeling as though you are coming down with the flu or a cold, this is something else to consider. This is especially so if you feel fine some days and then really off on other days.
The role of the holidays
A little known fact is that it is possible to develop a food intolerance at any point in your life. This is due to eating too much of a certain food ingredient in a short period of time. Since the holidays are a time where most of us eat way too much, to begin with, it’s more than possible that you can over-do it on a certain food ingredient and develop a food intolerance. In this case, it would be characterised as more of a food sensitivity than a food intolerance, but both are treated the same way: through an elimination diet.
If you notice any of these symptoms of a food intolerance or you want to simply take the time and the test itself to make sure that you haven’t accidentally overdone it, now is a good item to do so. This will also help prepare you for the future so that you can continue to enjoy your broad diet and all of its foods without putting yourself or your body at risk. There is such thing as “too much of a good thing” and “all things in moderation” is certainly an expression that you’ll want to keep in mind for the future, even over the holidays.
