Salad is healthy – isn’t it?

A recent article in The Daily Mail Online highlighted the extraordinary case of a woman losing weight by giving up traditionally healthy foods.

Sidone Price had been struggling to lose weight despite maintaining a diet based around small portions of lean protein and vegetables alongside regular trips to the gym.

Her doctor suggested that she continue her regime and that the bloating that she was experiencing was due to IBS and would ease in time. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disorder affecting up to ten per cent of the British population which causes bloating, abdominal pain and changes to bowel function. There is no certain cure and the symptoms can vary from person to person though stress and diet are often factors common among sufferers.

The doctor would have made a diagnosis based upon the vagaries of IBS, and yet Sidone’s diet consisted of foodstuffs easily digested and certainly not normally linked with the condition.

Sidone would eat five small meals each day with a heavy emphasis upon fruit and vegetables and as the problems persisted her diet became more radical, with just raw carrots and humus as a lunchtime meal. Despite this she was still bloated every time she ate, and the discomfort was amplified by her embarrassment.

At a loss, Sidone took the advice of a colleague who suggested she might have a food allergy or intolerance and that it would be worth getting herself tested. She did, and the results left her stunned.

Remarkably, Sidone hasintolerance to so called ‘healthy’ foods including carrots, and having cut these items from her diet she noticed immediate changes. After a few days her stomach had flattened and the bloating eased and though it was tough adapting to a new diet which would exclude cow’s milk and yeast (along with the carrots!) she has since lost four stone in weight.

How could something so seemingly innocent as a carrot be causing so many problems?
In the article, Dr Gill Hart from YorkTest Laboratories, who carried out the intolerance tests on Sidone, explained how an immune response within the body will trigger a panic reaction.

The body will rapidly build up a ‘store’ of fluid thus increasing weight. She reasons that the slightest aversion or trigger may stress the digestive system and make it less efficient, meaning not enough energy and nutrients are being absorbed into the body.

This situation would make an individual more likely to develop a disorder such as IBS, so while Sidone’s doctor may well have been accurate in diagnosis the root cause would have continued unnoticed without the intolerance testing.

It is incredible to consider that what may be considered a perfectly healthy diet may actually be causing such negative effects to our bodies. Some foods such as wheat are well known to upset certain people but testing by YorkTest Laboratories has unearthed intolerance to items as benign as lettuce.

Next time you reach for a healthy salad perhaps you should think again.