The more information you know about your food allergy/intolerance the more confident you will be in managing it and educating those around you. It is vital to make sure all the information you rely on is from a credible source. Optimum Intake Dietitian’s are able to help guide you with accurate information that is easy to understand and also help to devise a nutritional food plan that allows for as much variety and flexibility as possible, specific to your individual food requirements.
It is common to feel overwhelmed and frightened when you have to change your diet to avoid certain foods or additives, so seeking the right information and help at the start can make the task less daunting and in the end achieve a quicker, more accurate result and reduce/eliminate the negative symptoms that you may be experiencing as a result of a food allergy/intolerance.
A dietitian can help identify the role of dietary or other factors in making your symptoms worse. The only reliable way to sort out whether diet is playing a role is by a temporary “elimination diet” under the supervision of a skilled dietitian. If the diet helps, this is followed by challenges under controlled conditions to identify dietary triggers so that they can be avoided in the future. It is important to emphasise that “elimination diets” must only be undertaken for a short term, under strict supervision and only for very good reasons. Prolonged restricted diets can lead to problems with nutrition, particularly in children.
We also help people who are experiencing symptoms such as abdominal bloating and distension, excess wind, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits (diarrhoea, constipation, or a combination of both), and other gastro-intestinal symptoms, by using the FODMAP diet to help identify potential dietary triggers for these symptoms.
Please contact us if you would like to find out more information about food allergy / intolerances and to make an appointment at one of our consult locations.