Was It Something You Ate?: Food Intolerance: What Causes It and How to Avoid It - Hardcover

Emsley, John; Fell, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198504438 ISBN 13: 9780198504436

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Written by a popular science writer and a doctor specializing in food sensitivity, Was It Something You Ate? is the first book for general readers that offers clear guidance through the chemical minefields in our food.
Most of us are sensitive to one or more chemicals in our diet, be it MSG or alcohol or caffeine, but our bodies can usually tolerate modest amounts of the offending chemicals. If we know which chemicals give us problems, we can usually avoid unpleasant bouts of nausea, headache, and diarrhea. This book helps us identify those substances that can provoke a toxic response--ranging from benzoates to serotonin, sorbates, and tyramines--and explains why food intolerance occurs, what its symptoms are, and why some people are so badly hit by a particular substance while others are not bothered at all. Each chapter is illustrated with actual case studies of people who have been stricken by substances in their diet.
Based on proven medical and scientific research, Was It Something You Ate? will help you avoid troublesome chemicals and enjoy your food.

About this title

About the Author

John Emsley is Science Writer in Residence at Cambridge University. Peter Fell, MD, is Director of the Oxford Allergy Center.

Reviews

Science writer Emsley (Cambridge Univ.) and physician Fell (Director of the Oxford Allergy Center) define food allergy as the immune systems reaction to either a particular food (usually a form of protein such as eggs or peanuts) or an environmental agent that is out of proportion to the amount of the substance ingested. Intolerance, on the other hand, ``is caused by the body's inability to detoxify certain components in food''there is no immune system involvement, just a substance ingested that acts like a poison. Some intolerances are to a nutrient like lactose that an individual lacks the enzyme to process, some to non-nutrients such as sulfites or MSG (these latter occurring either as part of processing, or by contamination). Although the focus throughout is on presenting sound scientific information, Emsley and Fell organize their material in a way that makes it possible to sort out a possible food sensitivity: The common culprits are toxins, biogenic amines, salicylates, caffeine, sulfur dioxide and sulfites, and the big one, alcohol (``moderately poisonous, but such is the pleasure derived from drinking it'' that we ignore the facts and suffer the consequences). Lucid and informative to anyone trying to pin down a specific food intolerance. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0198504438
• ISBN 13: 9780198504436
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 190