Take Charge of Your Health During World Food Safety Day

Published: 7th June 2024 · Written by Dr. Joseph Nightingale, MBBS, MSc

World Food Safety Day highlights the importance of food security and quality, promoting sound practices and reducing the burden of foodborne diseases globally. Food safety is all about the shared responsibility between governments, producers, and consumers.

Throughout much of the world, food safety means diseases and contamination. However, in Western nations, most of these problems have either been solved or reduced. The problem here is the rising wave of allergies and food sensitivities. It’s an underreported issue.

Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to take charge of this issue, from dietary adjustments to food sensitivity testing.

What is World Food Safety Day?

World Food Safety Day, observed annually on June 7th, aims to raise awareness about food safety and encourage actions to prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, it is jointly facilitated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The day underscores the importance of food safety in ensuring food security and promoting good health.

The UN often uses the date to raise awareness about a particular topic, such as ‘Safe Food Now for a Healthy Tomorrow.’ However, it also serves as a general conversation starter, fostering collaboration among stakeholders and educating the wider public.

Indeed, World Food Safety Day is a fantastic opportunity to understand more about your health.

Taking Charge of Your Health

Sometimes, when we talk about health, we talk about things that happen to us, as if we’re a passive partner in the relationship. If we feel unwell, tired, or bloated, we chalk up to the way things are.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Exercise, good sleep, and a nutritious diet are the building blocks of health and well-being. Taking charge of your health means eating responsibly and making time to be active. But some people find even with the right diet and fitness regimen, they still feel… off.

Something else is going on. Being proactive with your health isn’t just about the basics. It’s about identifying symptoms and diagnosing problems – even vague, systemic symptoms like tiredness, bloating, or brain fog. They could be indicators of an underlying allergy or food sensitivity.

Understanding Allergies and Food Sensitivities

Food allergies and sensitivities are increasingly common, particularly in Western nations where other food safety issues are better controlled. Why this is happening isn’t fully understood. Various theories, ranging from antibiotic overuse to pesticides, have been suggested.

But what do we mean by food allergies and sensitivities? Let’s explain:

1. Allergies involve the immune system reacting to certain foods, causing symptoms like hives, swelling, and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. Common allergens include nuts, shellfish, and dairy.
2. Food sensitivities, or intolerances, are generally less severe and involve the digestive system. Symptoms can include bloating, gas, and fatigue, with common triggers being lactose and gluten.

While allergies are much more obvious, food sensitivities can be surprisingly subtle. It’s only after the symptoms subside that the person wonders how they ever lived with such tiredness or bloating.

Getting Tested

Food sensitivity tests can help pinpoint specific intolerances, while allergy tests can identify immune responses to certain foods. Keeping a food diary and noting reactions can also aid in identifying problems. However, without the results from food sensitivity tests, it’s hard to interpret the patterns. After all, symptoms of food sensitivities can take up to 48 hours to appear.

Once identified, managing these conditions typically involves eliminating or reducing the intake of the offending foods and finding suitable alternatives to maintain a balanced diet.

Perform a Complete Body Checkup

Want to know what’s going on inside your body? If you’ve noticed some unusual symptoms but can’t pinpoint the cause, consider taking the Complete Body Test. It tests for 38 allergens and 79 intolerances – including foods and inhalants – to give you a comprehensive picture of your body’s health.

Thanks to the complete list of tested items, it’s the best way to identify the underlying cause of your symptoms.

Getting tested is simple. When you purchase a test kit, we’ll send you everything you need to send a sample. Once we’ve received the sample, we’ll perform an expert analysis and send you the results within a week.

Alongside the results, you’ll receive a free 30-minute consultation with a nutritional therapist. You can clarify your results and ask questions about changing your diet. It’s personalised healthcare at its finest.

So, if you’ve experienced symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, headaches, swelling, rashes, itchiness, or diarrhoea, try the Complete Body Test today.