BENGALURU: 'Intolerance', a word that’s been making headlines in the socio-political context for some time now, has found its way into our diets. Rising cases of intolerance to dairy and gluten are forcing people to opt for lactose or gluten-free diets. Eateries are updating their menus with gluten-free food, there’s even gluten-free beer in the market now!
Before getting into the why and the how of food intolerances, it is important to first differentiate ‘intolerance’ from ‘severe allergic reactions’. The difference between the two, Namu Kini, co-founder of Happy Healthy Me, explains, “Intolerance could mean that you feel slightly bloated, it messes with your digestion. Allergy, however, can lead to a rash or fever, some people even start choking. With gluten intolerance, for example, people just feel much better when they don’t eat gluten. With allergies, people cannot touch the food, or, they will be sent to the hospital. With a peanut allergy, people can’t get on flights or go to public spaces, as they cannot be exposed to traces of that allergen.”
Listen to your body
Gluten is the term for proteins in certain grains such as barley and wheat. It helps food maintain shape by giving strength and elasticity to these grains. A few decades ago, gluten content in grains was very less, however, through years of hybridisation of wheat, resilient strains have been developed. Before mechanisation set in, in the 19th century, the process of fermenting bread took several days and fermentation would consume all the gluten, making the food gluten-free. But with instant fermentation today, there’s a high intake of gluten. Now, gluten is not restricted to grains, it’s also found in foods like soya sauce.
Gluten intolerance is of three kinds: the extreme condition is called celiac - an autoimmune disease where gluten is like poison for a person; the second type is a sensitivity or intolerance to gluten or wheat and the third type is when a person follows a gluten-free diet as it makes them feel healthier and lose weight.
Timothy Franklyn, the founder of National School of Journalism, Bengaluru (NSoJ), says that the everybody is intolerant to gluten in varying degrees. He didn’t realise he was gluten-intolerant for the first 33 years of his life but felt bloated even after consuming half a roti or puri. He says, “Feeling bloated, burping and indigestion are considered normal, but they are bodily responses. After I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, I started paying attention to what my body was saying. While my doctor’s said everything was fine after my surgery, I knew I wasn’t. When I would have gluten, I would feel fuzzy, almost depressed.”
It was after he eliminated gluten from his diet for a week that he noticed the drastic change in how he looked and felt. “In eight days, I lost about 10 kgs. My face shape changed. It was amazing to realise what damage it was doing to my body. But after that, I got so sensitive that even when I would eat sambar with asafoetida (Hing) in it, I would feel bloated. I think when you keep abusing, you build some kind of tolerance. Ever since then I haven’t burped, my stomach is flat, my eyes are clear.”
Cow milk not for us
Those with lactose intolerance are unable to digest lactose or sugar in milk. Here again, there are categories to the levels of intolerance one has towards lactose. On the extreme side are those who are completely intolerant to milk and even milk-based products such as curd and paneer.
On the moderate side, are those who are intolerant to milk, but can digest milk-based products. And there are also those who may face problems if they have milk on an empty stomach, but this cannot be called intolerance. Dr Aruna Jagdish, a general paediatrician, says that lactose intolerance is not uncommon, especially in children. Unlike gluten, there aren’t specific tests that can diagnose lactose intolerance. “Fortunately, many people outgrow this. But those who don’t, need to avoid milk and milk products. They can choose alternatives such as almond, soya milk. This is definitely easier to manage than celiac disease,” she adds.
Many experts are also of the opinion that most of us are lactose intolerant to a certain extent. As Kini puts it, “We are not meant to be consuming the milk of another animal. The composition of that milk, the level of protein and fat is meant for a calf, not a human being. We are not meant to digest it. Very often, kids grow up having it and they may or may not develop lactose intolerance, based on the diet. Most adults are lactose intolerant and live with it, thinking it’s indigestion or gas.”
Jagdish says, “You never know what hormones the animal has been pumped with, and then we consume the milk. So one can never tell what could be triggering the problem.”
Not enough germs?
Doctor Aruna Jagdish, a general paediatrician, says that there are tests to find out if you are celiac, “Celiac disease is concerning. If you are celiac, you have to be very careful about contamination of food,” she adds.
She says there are no conclusive, reasons why intolerance and reactions towards certain foods items are increasing. However, she cites three reasons that could play contributory factors. “A few theories suggest this happens because of the food we eat today - refined food that could be loaded with pesticides. If you have an autoimmune disease, you may be prone to getting celiac disease. The third reason is interesting - intolerance could be attributed to all the precautions we take these days to be hygienic. There is a possibility that this lack of exposure to germs is making our immune systems oversensitive”.
The doctor recommends consuming traditional south Indian food. “An important measure to combat celiac is making labelling of food packaging stricter. A show of the ingredients would help people with allergies.”