If you’re always bloated after meals and have a lingering feeling that something you’re eating just isn’t sitting right, you might suspect that you have a food intolerance.
Food intolerances can be frustrating because the symptoms aren’t always immediate or obvious. Unlike food allergies, which trigger a rapid immune response, intolerances tend to cause delayed, digestive-focused symptoms that can be harder to pinpoint.
Noel R. Fajardo, MD, Filippo Cremonini, MD, PhD, MSc, and our Las Vegas Gastroenterology team can help you get to the bottom of your gastrointestinal tract symptoms in our GI motility clinic.
Read on to learn how you can get tested for food intolerances.
A food intolerance occurs when your body has difficulty digesting certain foods. They’re relatively common, affecting an estimated 4% to 20% of the general population, compared with food allergies, which affect only 10% of adults.
Common examples include lactose intolerance (difficulty digesting dairy), gluten sensitivity (different from celiac disease), and sensitivity to certain carbohydrates (like FODMAPs).
Your symptoms can vary, but the most common food intolerance symptoms include bloating, gas, diarrhea, stomach pain, or fatigue after eating. Some people even experience migraines from food intolerances.
Because symptoms can be delayed, sometimes by hours or even a day, it’s not always easy to connect what you ate with how you feel.
Testing helps:
Instead of just guessing what food triggers your symptoms, testing means that you’re working with data.
At Las Vegas Gastroenterology, we start with a conversation. First, we review your symptoms, medical history, and eating patterns. This helps us identify likely triggers and determine which type of testing (if any) is appropriate.
There isn’t a single test that identifies all food intolerances, but several approaches can help. We may recommend:
This is a common method for pinpointing a food intolerance.
You temporarily remove suspected trigger foods from your diet, then slowly reintroduce them one at a time. This helps you clearly see which foods are causing symptoms.
But if you have multiple food intolerances, the elimination diet can get tricky. Elimination diets also can’t confirm underlying conditions like celiac disease.
Breath tests are commonly used for conditions like lactose intolerance or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Common types of breath tests include those for:
These tests measure how your body processes certain sugars by analyzing gases in your breath. Fun fact: Breath analysis goes back to the days of Hippocrates.
In the days leading up to your test, you need to follow a few simple guidelines:
You also need to fast for 12 hours before the procedure. On the day of your test, avoid smoking and try not to sleep for at least two hours before and during the test, as both can affect your results.
We give you specific instructions, but following these steps closely helps make sure that your test results are as accurate as possible.
Certain blood tests may help identify underlying conditions or rule out other issues, such as celiac disease.
It’s tempting to cut out foods on your own, but doing so without guidance can lead to unnecessary restrictions or even missed diagnoses.
Some tests also require specific preparation. For example, if you’re being tested for celiac disease, you need to eat gluten beforehand for the results to be accurate.
Working with us at Las Vegas Gastroenterology means you get appropriate testing, clear answers, and a plan that actually improves your symptoms.
If you’ve been dealing with ongoing digestive symptoms, it’s time to schedule an appointment at either of our two Las Vegas, Nevada, locations.
