Food Intolerance

Many people experience, or believe they experience, a physical reaction to some sorts of food. These may range from allergies to psychologically based aversions. Frequently difficult to diagnose, they present particular problems for medical practitioners and health care workers, and they impinge on the food supply system as a whole. This book sets out to cover the whole question of food reactions and intolerance in a sympathetic, impartial and understanding way. It starts by placing the question in context, with a look at overall questions of nutrition, attitudes to food, and the position of food within society and within "alternative" medical practice. The physiology of digestion is then covered, together with food intolerance, clinical manifestations and testing methods. Reactions to food additives, milk and gluten are considered in detail. The book concludes with a chapter dealing with the dilemma faced by patients with reactions to food. Anybody with an interest in this subject should find this book useful. It may be of particular interest to allergy specialists, family doctors, dietitians and those likely to encounter food intolerance professionally. It should also prove valuable to agriculturalists, food manufacturers and retailers, legislators and consumer groups.