Not his cup of tea
27 Sep 2010

Not his cup of tea

2 mins to read
While food intolerance doesn’t lead to reactions as severe as can occur with food allergies, it can cause considerable discomfort – especially in children. Stephanie Oley explains.


Hives. Headaches. Tummy aches. If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms in varying degrees of intensity after eating certain foods, it’s possible he or she has food intolerance.

What is food intolerance?

In cases of food intolerance, uncomfortable reactions to food are triggered in people with a sensitive constitution. The triggers include natural food chemicals, such as salicylates, amines and glutamate, which irritate nerve endings in different parts of the body. Additive colours, flavours and preservatives may also cause uncomfortable reactions.

Did you know?

Food intolerance is different to food allergy, in which the body’s immune system reacts to food proteins such as those found in egg, milk and peanut. (See my related story on food allergy for more information).

Food intolerance can manifest at any age, says accredited practicing dietitian and author Joan Breakey. “The baby may be colicky and difficult to settle; the toddler may have major tantrums or be restless; the school age child may have behavioural problems such as mood, sleep and impulsivity problems,” she says.

Diagnosing food intolerance

Food intolerance is difficult to diagnose. We spend much of our waking time eating or drinking, and reactions can take any amount of time to emerge. This is why an elimination diet is considered a good form of diagnosis and treatment.

Breakey cites three general types of food intolerance reactions:

  1. Instant reaction – Where a change is seen within 10 minutes of the food being eaten.
  2. Delayed reaction – Where a reaction occurs within 24 hours of a particular food being eaten. 
  3. Cumulative reaction – When several foods are eaten, each containing the offending food chemical, and a reaction is triggered when the body’s threshold is reached. This is the most common type of reaction.

The 3 most common food chemicals

Children can react to food for various reasons, including psychological factors or simply feeling unwell after eating a spicy or fatty meal. But the three main naturally occurring food chemical groups known to cause discomfort in sensitive individuals are:

  1. Salicylates – Compounds found in a variety of herbs, spices, fruit and vegetables.
  2. Amines – such as serotonin, tyramine and histamine are naturally present in pineapples, bananas, baked meat, vegetables, wine, avocados, chocolate, citrus fruits and mature cheese.
  3. Glutamate – Occurs naturally in camembert cheese, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce and mushrooms.

The elimination diet

If you think your child has a food intolerance, your healthcare practitioner and dietitian may prescribe a temporary elimination diet to determine the cause. However, elimination diets should only be undertaken for a short term in children. “It’s important to work with an experienced dietitian so you can get the food exclusions right while ensuring you’re adequately nourished,” says Breakey.

References available on request



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