Besides going to a Drs office and getting tested, cause we all know how much we dont like the Drs offices much these days...How do u know if u have an intolerance to something, I def noticed bloating after i have dairy in large amounts but what about other things? what usually happens physically??

Everyone is different and has different symptoms. I'd suggest excluding foods you think you're intolerant to, go on a simple, basic diet, then add those foods in gradually and take note of how you feel.

Moongirl, the problem here is that you can either have immediate reactions or delayed reactions so its sometimes really difficult to narrow it down.

I, for example, get immediate reactions to eating rice, seeds, artificial sweetners. While I'm still eating I get a "gurgling" or "rattling" in my bowel. Then my stomach swells up hugely.

If I eat anything processed, I get D within 10 minutes of eating it.

A food diary should help enormously, stating how you feel after each meal. Also as stated before, eat really simple foods then slowly add in more.

Good luck!

Yvonne

Here's an easy way: keep a food diary for a week. Write down everything you eat, and break it down into its food components. For example, instead of writing down chicken soup, write the ingredients: chicken, celery, onion, salt, pepper, etc. Then write down how you feel after you eat. Also, at the top of the page, write down how you felt upon waking, and how well you slept.

After a week, go through the diary and look for patterns. I did this and found that dairy horribly upset my stomach the morning after consuming it! That's a long time for something to make itself known, but there it was on the paper. So I eliminated dairy for a few days...and the stomach upset went away. Added the dairy back, and whammo, the upset came back.

Things to look for in your diary: headaches, bone pain, muscle pain, fatigue, mental fog, upset stomach, bloating, anger/mood swings/feeling down, itching, etc.

Hope this helps. If you come across any funny patterns, just post them here and let everyone help.