Food intolerance survey highlights family incidence, uber tolerance and more

The foodintol Survey 2012 released today, highlighted that many people have a family member or child with food intolerance. Furthermore undiagnosed intolerances can affect stress levels, concentration, and mood.

The foodintol Survey 2012 was conducted internationally by Australian business foodintol with the majority of respondents aged 18-65 who either had food intolerance or were interested in intolerances. Over 900 people completed the survey with participants from Australia, USA, Canada, NZ and UK.

Nearly half of respondents had a relative (sibling, parent, other) with food intolerance (48%) and some had more than one. Of all respondents, just over a fifth have a child with food intolerance (21%) and a further 27% suspect their children have intolerances. In addition 21% didn’t have children with food intolerance (31% of respondents had no children).

foodintol Director, Deborah Manners, explains “Dairy and gluten were by far the main food intolerances reported however Fructose sensitivity is now surprisingly high. Sensitivity to food additives is also on the rise along with yeast sensitivity."

“As a result of substituting the troublesome food 40% had better concentration, 37% were less stressed and 50% found they had a brighter mood. Furthermore, 20% of respondents had less time off work or school,” said Manners.

“Additional benefits some recipients enjoyed included more joint mobility for 23%, weight loss for 38% and increased energy for 70%.”

According to Manners employers have much to gain by fostering awareness of food intolerance amongst employees. Along with improved employee health they see productivity increases associated with less downtime, better morale and fewer medicated people at work.

59% of respondents were surprised by their food intolerances, either suspecting the wrong intolerance (17%) or finding they had not one but two food intolerances (42%).

Finding out their food intolerance also had an added benefit for many people – more cash in their hip pocket. Interestingly the results highlighted 30% now spend less on medications or doctors visits since identification of their food intolerance. 12% now don’t need medication any more and 36% have decreased their need for medication.

Bloating, IBS, diarrhea, constipation, drowsiness, back and joint pain, headaches, weight gain, skin problems, and food cravings were the main symptoms people reported experiencing due to their food intolerance. Others reported weight loss, candida and respiratory problems. Most people experienced more than one symptom.

“The vast majority of respondents found their symptoms improved or evaporated after discovering their food intolerance and switching out problem foods – across the board improvements for every ailment,” said Manners.

About Foodintolfoodintol is an online resource for the food intolerant consumer – it is a place of knowledge for food intolerance, providing access and information from peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals. foodintol stays abreast of new findings. With the help of a very talented and dedicated team foodintol has been created to be a comprehensive resource centre about food intolerance with News, Facts and Solutions to streamline life for those with food intolerance.