Joining Maria Botros on the Tell Me Why podcast this week is Sandra Mikhail, Dietitian and Founder of A-Z Nutrition, who spoke about misleading diagnostic tools currently trending and the importance of gut health.
Often people confuse food intolerances with food allergies
Blood tests cannot diagnose food intolerances, says Sandra
Sandra: Enzymatic intolerances, food chemical intolerances or pharmacological sensitivities, and Fodmaps are the 3 types of food intolerances
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Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
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#UAEnews #podcast #foodintolerance
Often people confuse food intolerances with food allergies
Blood tests cannot diagnose food intolerances, says Sandra
Sandra: Enzymatic intolerances, food chemical intolerances or pharmacological sensitivities, and Fodmaps are the 3 types of food intolerances
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #podcast #foodintolerance
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NewsTranscript
00:00The issue that I have with these commercial food intolerance testing is actually it is the biggest wellness scam of our generation.
00:09Okay.
00:10Specifically talking about food intolerance tests that look at these IgG antibodies.
00:17So basically these are compounds that we produce in exposure to things like food, viruses, pollen, toxins in our environment.
00:26And these compounds are present whether a person has symptoms or not.
00:32So we still produce these compounds even if we're healthy.
00:35So if anything, these antibodies when they test you, they just actually indicate tolerance because you've been exposed to it rather than intolerance.
00:44Because you've been consuming it basically.
00:45Exactly.
00:46So this is why when a lot of my clients would come in with this massive list of foods, I was like, look, it's a traffic light system.
00:51I know the red, the green, the yellow.
00:53I can tell you without even looking at your blood work what you're apparently intolerant to.
00:59Oh, man.
01:00So I know a lot of people are listening or watching going, what?
01:07But I've invested so much money in these.
01:16Welcome back.
01:17This is Tell Me Why.
01:18I'm Maria Botros.
01:19And you know what?
01:20We always talk about New Year, new me.
01:22We talk about the resolutions.
01:24We talk about aiming for a healthier lifestyle, better physical or fitness goals.
01:32And we seldom stick to them.
01:35But one thing's for sure is that everyone strives to look out for their health.
01:40Everyone is looking for better ways to eat, to manage sleep, to manage stress.
01:48And today we're taking it to a whole new realm.
01:53It's a topic we've never discussed.
01:55And I think it's part of the New Year, new me resolution for Tell Me Why at least.
02:00So today we're going to talk about something that I've struggled with personally, and that is gut health.
02:06Joining me in the studio is Sandra Mikhail, who is a dietician and an author of a book, which we will mention throughout the talk.
02:14Sandra, how are you?
02:15I'm good.
02:16We were talking about how stressed I am because driving in Dubai, as soon as I get into that car, my eyes start twitching.
02:22And you just never know what to expect.
02:24But I'm here.
02:25I'm comfortable and ready to talk about all things gut.
02:28Well, that's great.
02:29It's lovely having you in the studio.
02:31Before we get started, I just want you to tell me about yourself.
02:34Tell me in the audience, who is Sandra?
02:36What do you do?
02:37How did you get into what you do?
02:40How much time do you have?
02:41Oh, we've got all the time in the world.
02:43You go ahead.
02:44Look, who am I?
02:45I think rather than sit here and talk about titles, I am someone who has been advocating for people who felt lost and unsupported when it comes to their health and well-being because of the amount of misinformation that we're exposed to, especially across social media.
03:01Yes.
03:02I'm also someone, or you can call me the gut health dietician that apparently makes poo talk salon chic.
03:09That's something that's been dubbed by a lot of my followers.
03:13I was like, you know what?
03:14That's going to stick.
03:15I really like that because it fits.
03:17I'm a clinical dietician by trade, and I'm someone that is very, very passionate about what I do and have been working in this field.
03:29Well, not even in this field.
03:30You can actually say I've been born into it.
03:32One of my whys, and a lot of people ask me, why gut health?
03:37It's just because I grew up as the daughter of a gastroenterologist.
03:43Well, that's spot on.
03:45There was a lot of poo talk growing up, which is totally normal.
03:49That was my big why.
03:52I think that was sort of the first exposure to this whole world of gut health.
03:57I got diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, which is also very, very common.
04:01That's basically a glitch.
04:03It's when a glitch happens between your brain and your gut and how they communicate, causing lots of turbulent reactions or symptoms when it comes to your gut.
04:13I was already a dietician before I got diagnosed, and actually that pushed my interest in gut health even more.
04:22I've been working in this field for way over a decade.
04:25I actually was thinking about, how long have I been doing this for?
04:28It's 16 or 17 years now.
04:31Wow.
04:32As I said, I've been in this field way before it became trendy.
04:40My mission is, as I said, to really help people navigate the plethora of pseudoscience and misinformation that we're exposed to.
04:49I'm here to fight it, so I won't be controversial.
04:52There's a lot of controversy when it comes to this world of gut health because I think people just know longer what to do.
04:58I was just going to say, I struggled with this for quite some time.
05:03What were your struggles?
05:04Apparently, I was diagnosed with a leaky gut.
05:07Okay.
05:08The thing is that I was always told that your gut is like your second brain, which is my next question to you.
05:15Tell me why that's the case.
05:18Before we get into that, basically, I was diagnosed with a leaky gut.
05:22I had to go through all these different tests.
05:25I got blood work done.
05:27I got an allergy test done, food intolerance test done.
05:32I was constantly bloated, constantly just in constant discomfort for the longest time ever.
05:42I did omit a lot of food categories, let's just say.
05:47That helped a little, but it wasn't the solution.
05:50It sort of went away when I worked on my diet, on my actual daily diet.
05:57I just wanted to know your take on that.
06:00I'll just tell you.
06:01Look, when it comes to—let's start off with leaky gut.
06:05In a nutshell, it is a non-medical marketing term that's been used to push a lot of—
06:16Again, not that I want to badmouth anything, but what I wanted to say is that if we had to look at the science, because a lot of it, yes, everything has to be science-based,
06:23but sometimes you can also think outside of the box using science as the backbone of everything that we do, especially as healthcare professionals.
06:30When it comes to leaky gut, the issue that I have with leaky gut is that it is a non-medical marketing term used to push a lot of these cures or miracle cures.
06:40Fad diets, eliminations, unnecessary eliminations that are—I'm not going to say like false promises to every gut condition out there, but also to very real gut concerns too.
06:55Right.
06:56The issue that we have with leaky gut is because it's also been dubbed this umbrella term that encompasses every gut problem a person experiences.
07:10Now, if we had to look at the science and where medicine tells us, we do know that leaky gut is very real.
07:17In the medical world, it's called intestinal permeability.
07:20We do see that with certain gut conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.
07:25These are serious conditions like—I don't know if you've heard of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.
07:30Basically, these are serious inflammatory conditions of your gut.
07:37Celiac disease is another one.
07:39What happens is because of these conditions—Celiac disease is a condition where you have this lifelong, I'm not going to say allergic reaction, but a reaction to gluten, so it damages your intestine.
07:49Exactly.
07:50It is considered, let's say, an autoimmune disease.
07:53Now, we do see leaky gut or intestinal permeability because your gut lining becomes compromised because of all the inflammation that's happening.
08:00Right.
08:01Now, when it comes to leaky gut, think of leaky gut as a symptom but not a diagnosis.
08:07The reason why we have a lot of controversy around leaky gut is, one, we do not have a standardized definition.
08:13What is leaky gut?
08:14We don't have standardized diagnostic tools.
08:17Even the tests that are out there to diagnose leaky gut are unreliable.
08:23There are specific markers that some practitioners would test for, but if you test at three different points in time, you're going to get very, very different values.
08:34This is why I would say, look, if you do suspect a leaky gut, there's a lot of things that you can do.
08:40One of the things that I get my clients to do is track.
08:44Keep a diary.
08:46I always say, right, my gut's not right.
08:49Let me track things.
08:50Track everything that you've eaten, but be quite detailed, right, from herbs and spices to all the vegetables that you're consuming, everything that you've had to drink.
09:00But also track your stress levels, track your sleep, track your cycle, track your movement, and start to see if you identify patterns.
09:09Now, once you have that information, your first point of contact is to see a specialist, and we're talking about a gastroenterologist.
09:15That is your first line or first point.
09:18Now, again, I am an advocate for conventional medicine, right?
09:22A lot of people, I know it has had a bad rap, and it is understandably so.
09:29Of course.
09:30But that doesn't mean we should go to the other extreme.
09:33Oh, of course.
09:34So I always say, look, I'm also there to create that bridge between conventional and alternative and creating this whole integrative approach.
09:42Because of all of us, you know, anyone that's been through medicine or as a clinical dietitian, we're holistic in nature.
09:48We don't need to put that label behind our names.
09:51So once you've had that information, then you see a gastroenterologist, and there's a whole bunch of tests that we need to do.
09:57We need to look at your poo.
09:59We need to look at stool.
10:00We need to look at if there are any changes that you've been complaining of, like the bloating, how long that's been going for.
10:06So there's a whole bunch of tests that you actually need to get done.
10:09Right.
10:10And then based on that, this is how we start looking at the approach.
10:13So it's really looking at the root cause of what's causing your so-called gut to be leaky.
10:17Of course.
10:18Rather than just say, smack you with a label, go, here you go, you've got leaky gut, let's go on an elimination diet.
10:25And a lot of the times, you know, even as a dietitian, that tends to be one of my last resorts, to go on a full-fledged elimination.
10:31To be honest, I want to just put it out there.
10:35I am also pro-conventional medicine, by the way.
10:38My parents were in the medical field their whole lives, and I have so many family members in the medical field.
10:43So I am a core believer of bridging that gap.
10:46Absolutely.
10:47And I grew up this way.
10:48Exactly.
10:49And it has had a bad rap, and I know that.
10:52But I did go to a gastro doctor, I think it was like three or four years ago.
11:00Dad, I hope that's not you.
11:01No, no, no, no, no.
11:02It wasn't.
11:03It wasn't.
11:04It wasn't.
11:05And he was great.
11:06He was great.
11:07And he suggested doing, you know, the food intolerance test.
11:10And that's why I took it to a whole new level.
11:13But I did do an endoscopy, and I was diagnosed with a bunch of things.
11:18But just to – so that we don't digress.
11:21But I do agree that you need to explore all the options.
11:24Absolutely.
11:25Like, don't just stick to one extreme.
11:26So I agree with you 100%.
11:29And I applaud you for bridging that gap because a lot of people have sort of steered away from conventional medicine
11:36because of everything that's happened.
11:38And it still happens.
11:39I've experienced it myself.
11:41I think, you know, yes, there are faults within the system.
11:43Yeah, of course.
11:44And not – you know, this is everywhere.
11:46But I would say be critical.
11:51Understand who actually is a gut health specialist.
11:54Right.
11:55When it comes to this whole social media platform, let's just start off with saying who is not a gut health specialist.
12:04One, some sort of – I call them the wellness unicorn society.
12:08So anyone that's part of that society online, please don't take their advice.
12:12A food blogger is not a gut health specialist.
12:15A health coach is not a gut health specialist.
12:18Someone that's had an online diploma is not a gut health specialist.
12:22Right.
12:23And someone who takes their medical advice from spirits is not a gut health specialist.
12:28Who is is basically, as I said, a gastroenterologist.
12:31There are GPs that do work in gut health but also have additional qualifications when it comes to nutrition,
12:38who are also clinical nutritionists as well.
12:41Dietitians, not all dietitians are gut health specialists.
12:44You have to work in this field for at least five years.
12:46So I've been doing this for way over a decade.
12:49Right.
12:50And you need, as I said, you have to continuously educate yourself.
12:54You need to be exposed to the patients, the clients, et cetera, and build that experience.
12:59So a minimum of five years.
13:02And if it's a nutritionist, they also have to have a master's in dietetics or clinical nutrition as well.
13:07Right.
13:08So this is where I would say, look, be wary of where you get your information from.
13:12If whatever person's promoting, even if it's a dietitian, because I do know dietitians promote some unorthodox tests as well,
13:20but if things that they're promoting sound too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
13:24Right.
13:25If they're trying to push supplements your way, that's another red flag.
13:29So there are certain red flags that you need to be very, very wary of.
13:33Okay.
13:34So that's actually, it's interesting that you mentioned dietitians and nutritionists.
13:38And I think it's so important to define the two and to know what the difference is.
13:43So if you could do that and if you could explain why people always say your gut is like your second brain.
13:50All right.
13:51So let's start off with the difference between a nutritionist and dietitian.
13:54So I'm both.
13:55Okay.
13:56So the main difference is obviously is in the type of education that you do.
13:59Right.
14:00So with dietitians, they're able to prescribe medical nutrition therapy.
14:04Okay.
14:05So you've done, again, in simple terms, some sort of a pre-med.
14:07Okay.
14:08Like there's a lot of science there.
14:09You do, you have to do rotations, so clinical rotations, working with different specialties.
14:16So there's a very strong core clinical background from that perspective.
14:19Okay.
14:20When it comes to nutritionists, they do work in nutrition, obviously, but mainly more from improving lifestyle measures.
14:27Okay.
14:29What they can do if they do want to prescribe medical nutrition therapy, you would need to do an extra degree or qualification,
14:35whether it's in clinical nutrition or a master's in dietetics.
14:39Okay.
14:40So, again, it is the terminology, basically.
14:43The other thing is dietitians, that title is regulated.
14:48Nutritionists, it's not a regulated title except for a few places.
14:53So, for example, in the UK, you can be part of a board, like to be a registered nutritionist.
14:57Okay.
14:58Or have the certification as a clinical nutritionist because then you're under surveillance.
15:02But anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.
15:06Your neighbor can call themselves a nutritionist, your best friend.
15:10So it's really not regulated, and that's the problem there.
15:13Anyone can be a nutritionist.
15:15Right, and it's always difficult to know who to trust, basically, when that's the case.
15:19Absolutely.
15:20Okay.
15:21So, look, qualifications aside, I mean, now what we're seeing is even people with qualifications.
15:26Right.
15:27You know, promoting a lot of pseudoscience.
15:28Yes.
15:29And this is what enrages me and infuriates me.
15:31Yeah, of course.
15:32So people are lost not knowing who to believe anymore.
15:35What do we do?
15:36Honestly, what do we do?
15:37I mean, that's always the question is, and it's about everything in the medical field, like anything that has to do with your health.
15:44You always hear one opinion and then on the other side, the conflicting opinion, and you don't know what to believe or what to follow.
15:51It's always the case.
15:52Trust your gut.
15:53Okay.
15:54I know.
15:55Which is exactly why I want to ask.
15:57So why is your gut your second brain?
15:59Look, your gut is your second brain because it has a whole, you know, we call it the enteric nervous system.
16:05So it has a whole nervous system separate to the brain.
16:08Now, if we had to look at, you know, what is gut health?
16:12Let me just maybe point that out first because gut health in simple terms is when all the major players from mouth to bum are all functioning really, really well.
16:24Exactly.
16:25But also when you have a rich and diverse inner ecosystem.
16:27And that's not faulty.
16:28So that I'm sure you've come across the term gut microbiome or gut microbiota.
16:31Yes, of course.
16:32Yes.
16:33So generally speaking, all these players are working together in harmony.
16:38But also gut health is not just about digestion or poo or eliminating waste.
16:44Gut health is about immunity.
16:47We do know that about 70% of our immune system lies within our gut.
16:51Okay.
16:52Gut health is about mood, metabolism, so brain function.
16:56So what we're starting to uncover and we've, you know, it's been like that for the last 10 to 15 years of what we're starting to find out is that your gut microbiome or your gut is building connections with all the different organs.
17:08One of them is the brain.
17:10So actually we have this whole gut brain axis that we know of.
17:14And if you think about it, your gut and your brain are atomically connected by a long tube called the vagus nerve.
17:22Okay.
17:23And think of it as a bidirectional communication pathway where they're constantly chit-chatting, checking in on everyone, how everyone's doing basically.
17:31And this is where we're starting to see, okay, how is this communication channel happening?
17:36And we're starting to see, okay, you know, your gut bugs are communicating with your brain, either through producing different chemicals or byproducts, for example, whether it's certain hormones like these chemical messengers.
17:47I'm sure you've heard, you know, you produce more serotonin and dopamine in your gut.
17:53Now we do.
17:54But again, there's a lot of controversy there to say, hold on, do these chemical messengers that are produced in our gut act the same way as the ones produced in our brain?
18:04Do you know what?
18:05Even if we don't have conclusive evidence, it doesn't mean we should neglect our gut.
18:08Exactly.
18:09And support that inner ecosystem.
18:11Right.
18:12So what we're starting to see is that your gut microbiome might also influence mood all through that bidirectional channel.
18:20And, you know, on the opposite side is stress, anxiety, and all these other things can also affect your gut.
18:28Exactly.
18:29So it's not just your gut affecting your mood, but there are other things that can also.
18:32Two ways straight.
18:33Yeah, exactly.
18:35One of the biggest examples that we use, and I'm going to talk about irritable bowel syndrome or IBS because it is extremely common, very, very common, especially here in the Middle East, especially here in the UAE.
18:47And people don't talk about it as much because the first thing that comes to mind when someone gets diagnosed with IBS, it's like, it's all in your head.
18:56I'm sure a lot of people have heard that.
18:57Really?
18:58It's all in your head.
18:59And you're like, you know what?
19:00Yes, it is because it is a glitch in how things are working.
19:03And stress is actually one of them, stress and anxiety.
19:05So we do, and depression, we do see that a lot of people who have any mental health struggles do end up getting diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and vice versa.
19:13Of course.
19:14So if you're stressed out, if you're anxious, if you're fearful, what happens is your brain is going to send signals to your gut affecting how your gut muscles contract.
19:24So they might contract really fast, causing diarrhea.
19:27Your gut muscles might be very sluggish, causing constipation.
19:30You might be bloated, even though you're like, hold on, I haven't changed anything in my diet.
19:35So the symptoms of IBS are things like irregular bowel movements, stomach pain, bloating.
19:44What else did we say?
19:46And then, as I said, either constipation, diarrhea, and a mix of both.
19:49Right.
19:51Now, when it comes to managing IBS, it's not just through nutrition.
19:56We have to address the mind as well.
19:59Okay.
20:00So we do talk about, I mean, my, you know, one of the core things that we do and one of our core messages when it comes to nutrition aid is that we always take our clients through a journey addressing four pillars.
20:10Mind, movement, nutrition, and sleep.
20:12Nutrition is at the core of everything that we do.
20:14Right.
20:16So when it comes to your gut health, these four pillars need to be in sync somehow.
20:22Because if you think about it, if one is off, it's a domino effect.
20:27Of course.
20:28So if you're extremely stressed out or if, again, when we talk about stress, right, obviously it's very subjective and we're never going to take the stress out of our lives, but it's how do we cope with stress?
20:36Exactly.
20:37How do we make sure that we're not, you know, our fight and flight system is not constantly, you know, the alarms are not going off all the time.
20:43Right.
20:44So this is where I would say you need to find all these different techniques that work for you and fit with your reality when it comes to all these different four pillars.
20:52Going back to food intolerance tests and food allergy tests, to be honest, even though I did go through the journey and I did omit, you know, a bunch of the foods and I felt better for a very short while.
21:06After a while, I managed to feel better on my own without having to take out these foods.
21:12And I did actually reintroduce a lot of the foods that, you know, they said I couldn't have.
21:17I'm glad you did.
21:18Eventually, yes.
21:19Exactly.
21:20And to be honest, after a while, I felt like, okay, maybe I don't believe in them as much as I thought I would, these food intolerance tests or these food allergy tests.
21:30So it's important to define like the two and to maybe point out the difference between the two.
21:35And then just to give me your take, because I honestly felt like, okay, maybe it wasn't so much omitting the foods.
21:43It was maybe just, you know, sort of like restarting my system or trying to find like, you know, what aggravates, you know, certain symptoms.
21:51But it isn't so much about like a whole category of food.
21:56Absolutely.
21:57Food allergies and food intolerance, the terms are always used interchangeably.
22:03So a lot of people would say, I'm allergic to gluten.
22:05And actually, you probably have a sensitivity to maybe other components of wheat, not necessarily gluten.
22:11But when we're talking about a food allergy, we're talking about your immune system being involved.
22:15So what happens is your immune system reacts to a specific food protein and it identifies it as being harmful.
22:23So once it does, it just goes, oh, let's start producing these compounds to deal with it.
22:29And these are allergy antibodies called IgE antibodies.
22:34Okay.
22:35So basically, once you start producing these specific compounds, allergic reactions will follow and they can manifest from things like a rash.
22:44So skin rash, hives, urticaria, but also vomiting and diarrhea, breathing difficulties.
22:51And in very serious cases, anaphylaxis, where basically you get swelling in your throat.
22:56You choke up.
22:57Exactly. And you stop breathing.
22:58Allergies, food allergies are fatal.
23:00They can be fatal.
23:02Now, the most common food allergy, look, I'll give you the basic ones.
23:08Like you get eggs, wheat.
23:10Nuts.
23:11Soy.
23:12Nuts. True nuts.
23:13Right.
23:14A cow's milk protein.
23:15Right.
23:17And a lot of the times, if you've been diagnosed with a food allergy as a child, you tend to outgrow them.
23:22Also, it is very unusual or rare, I'm not going to say impossible, to develop a food allergy as an adult.
23:28We are seeing more and more right now.
23:30We don't know the exact reason why.
23:33We can go back to leaky gut then.
23:35But I always say when it comes to food allergies, you can actually test for those, but there are specific tests that you need to go for.
23:43So there is an IGE panel that you can do.
23:46That's a RAS, so through the blood work, or a skin prick test.
23:49Okay.
23:50And your specialists there are a food allergist.
23:52So they're an allergist or a clinical immunologist and a gastroenterologist.
23:56So they're the ones, if you do suspect a food allergy, you need to see them.
24:00And also a clinical dietitian or a clinical nutritionist who specializes in this area.
24:04Right.
24:05Food intolerance.
24:06Mm-hmm.
24:07Your immune system is not necessarily involved directly.
24:10Okay.
24:11So basically what happens is, by definition, a food intolerance is a non-immunological response to a food component or an amount that's normally tolerated by a normal person.
24:23Mm-hmm.
24:24So what happens is you've probably consumed a food product, and then if it doesn't sit well with you, a chemical reaction happens, potentially impacting your gut, but also the nerve endings and your nervous system is involved.
24:37So what tends to happen with a food intolerance and why is it so tricky to diagnose is because your gut is not the only system impacted.
24:45Okay.
24:46Skin, respiratory, neurological symptoms.
24:50So with a food intolerance, you get a whole range of symptoms, you know, making my life more difficult.
24:57But that's the beauty about it.
24:58Yeah.
24:59And it really takes this whole, you know, no one-size-fits-all approach to another level.
25:04Mm-hmm.
25:05Now, when it comes to food intolerance, there are different types of food intolerance, and we group them into three main ones.
25:13One is called an enzymatic intolerance, and actually one of the most common intolerances, if you want to talk about it, is lactose intolerance.
25:20So basically this is where you don't produce lactase, which is the enzyme needed to break down the milk sugars, which is lactose.
25:29This is very, very common.
25:30As we get older, we produce less and less lactase, so a lot of people say, well, dairy doesn't sit well with me.
25:35Right.
25:36It doesn't mean you're allergic to it.
25:37Right.
25:38You're probably intolerant.
25:39Lactose intolerance is actually very – lactose intolerance is actually normal.
25:44Lactose tolerance is a genetic mutation.
25:48Interesting.
25:49Yeah.
25:50Okay.
25:52Basically, looking at cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, we do see a lot of people, let's say, in this region and, let's say, in Asia and Southeast Asia, develop lactose intolerance because we are not exposed to the farms and then the cows.
26:07That's just to say they're not natural in their natural form.
26:10No.
26:11Of course.
26:12But you see a lot of lactose tolerance in more, let's say, the northern European countries.
26:16Right.
26:18By saying that, though, still, that is just an example of a food intolerance or an enzymatic food intolerance.
26:23Another type, which is very tricky, is a food chemical intolerance, also called a pharmacological sensitivity.
26:30Okay.
26:31Basically, you develop the sensitivity to either natural chemicals in food like amines – I'm sure you've heard of maybe histamines – or food additives like sulfites.
26:41Okay.
26:42That is a food chemical intolerance.
26:44The last type of, let's say, intolerance is a sensitivity to a group of foods called FODMAPs.
26:50These are fermentable sugars found in lots of healthy stuff, right?
26:54Okay.
26:55They're found in things like your wheat, your breads, and your cereals.
26:57They're found in things like your onion, your garlic, your avocado, asparagus.
27:01A lot of these are good foods that we need to have.
27:04But some people, let's say, especially those that were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, develop the sensitivity to FODMAPs because what these specific foods do is they cause your intestines to basically absorb so much liquid and gas, causing distention.
27:19The bloating, yeah.
27:20The bloat.
27:21Yes.
27:22And then causing irregular bowel movements, stomach pain, et cetera.
27:26Of course.
27:27Now, there is no blood test that can diagnose a food intolerance.
27:32We can diagnose food intolerance with lactose and potentially fructose.
27:36But the issue that I have with these commercial food intolerance testing is actually it is the biggest wellness scam of our generation.
27:48Okay.
27:49Specifically talking about food intolerance tests that look at these IgG antibodies.
27:57So basically these are compounds that we produce in exposure to things like food, viruses, pollen, toxins in our environment.
28:05And these compounds are present whether a person has symptoms or not.
28:11So we still produce these compounds even if we're healthy.
28:14So if anything, these antibodies, when they test you, they just actually indicate tolerance because you've been exposed to it rather than intolerance.
28:23Because you've been consuming it basically.
28:24Exactly.
28:25So this is why when a lot of my clients would come in with this massive list of foods, I was like, look, it's a traffic light system.
28:30I know the red, the green, the yellow.
28:32Yes, exactly.
28:33I can tell you without even looking at your blood work what you're apparently intolerant to.
28:38Oh, man.
28:39So I know a lot of people are listening or watching going, what?
28:46But I've invested so much money in these.
28:50Look, and I'm being completely honest with you because I have been approached by these companies.
28:55And I've even had discussions with these companies.
28:57It's a money-making industry.
29:00Right.
29:01And it's not regulated.
29:02When I was, I know back when I was living here, years ago, it's been a while.
29:06Actually, I moved out of Dubai a long time ago now.
29:10I was part of a group that were working with the DHA, so that's the Dubai health authorities here, to actually start regulation or regulating these food intolerance testing.
29:19The problem is it's incentivized.
29:23So they would go to doctors or dietitians and say, look, if you sell this amount, this is how much money you can make.
29:28And when you talk to these companies, and this is quite unfortunate, is that they always say, look, the Middle East is fantastic.
29:35These are our clientele base because they don't question it.
29:37They have the money.
29:38They're uneducated, and they'll pay for it.
29:42And that just infuriates me.
29:44So it's like you are taking advantage of the most vulnerable people.
29:47And why do people resort to food intolerance tests?
29:50They want answers.
29:52So the only way to diagnose a food intolerance is to work with a clinical dietitian who has worked in this field for a while, but to do an elimination diet.
30:00But again, you need to know what sort of elimination diet am I doing.
30:02Exactly.
30:03Is it a food chemical intolerance?
30:05Are we looking at an enzyme intolerance, an enzymatic food intolerance?
30:09Or are we looking at a FODMAP sensitivity?
30:11Right.
30:12So a lot of people who would say, look, I think I'm intolerant to gluten.
30:15Actually, it's potentially not gluten that you're sensitive to.
30:18It's maybe the FODMAPs found in wheat called fructans.
30:21So this is where you have to start educating the public to know, OK, hold on.
30:27This is a scam.
30:28It costs a lot of money, and it's unnecessary.
30:35For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov