How food intolerances can affect your life and health
Approximately 1.3 million Brits suffer from food allergies or intolerances with coeliac disease and lactose intolerance being the most prevalent. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting certain parts of the gastrointestinal tract which become inflamed upon the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in many grains such as wheat, which constitutes a very important pillar of dietary fiber and protein.
Lactose intolerance is, as the name suggests, not an allergy as such however food allergies is an often loosely used umbrella term. People who are intolerant to lactose essentially lack an enzyme called lactase which means that they cannot digest foods containing lactose such as dairy and as a result they suffer from symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, and acid reflux when consuming these foods.
If you suspect that you might be allergic or intolerant to certain foods you should mention this to your GP or consult a nutrition expert. Coeliac disease and lactose intolerance can be detected via immunibiological and other tests and sometimes patients are advised to exclude certain foods from their diet over a period of time and note any changes in their wellbeing in a food diary. This can be quite time-consuming and a lenghty process especially if several allergies are suspected.
While many supermarkets and a growing number of restaurants now offer allergy-friendly food ranges, many sufferers struggle to keep up a healthy balanced diet and are lacking ideas for tasty and varied meals.
Djuvec-style Rice
A lovely, cheap and quick yet very satisfying and filling dish low in calories, free from gluten and dairy. Serve with a green summer salad. Also makes a lovely salad at your summer BBQ as it can be eaten hot or cold.
Serves 4
250g brown rice
600g courgettes
500g carrots
1 red pepper
3 gloves of garlic
A dash of olive oil
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tablespoon of instant vegetable broth or the equivalent amount in crumbled stock cubes
The following to taste: freshly ground black pepper, turmeric, tomato ketchup, curry powder
3 spring onions
Boil the rice according to the cooking instructions. Meanwhile, slice the carrots and the courgettes (depending on their size you may want to halve them first) into about 4mm thin slices. Core and dice the pepper.
In a large pot, pan or ideally a casserole dish if you have one, heat up the oil and add the crushed garlic. Fry it for a short while before adding the sliced and diced vegetables. Fry them for a few minutes but take care not to overcook them as you want them to retain their lovely colour as well as a crunchy bite. Add the tinned tomatoes and the spices as well as some tomato ketchup to taste (about a dollop or so, it emphasises the tomato flavour, if you don’t have ketchup you can use some tomato concentrate or puree). Stir well, cover and let simmer for a few minutes until the vegetables are ready. Again take care not to overcook them, thinly sliced vegetables are ready in no time.
Drain the rice and add it to the mixture together with the chopped spring onions. Mix well to ensure the rice is evenly coated by the tomato sauce vegetable mixture. Turn off the heat, put on the lid and let it stand for a while so the flavours can develop nicely.
The vegetables in this recipe can be varied depending on what you have in your fridge, peas and mushrooms go equally well.
