Food intolerences
If you've often suffered from digestion problems, bloating, cramps or skin problems, it might be caused by a food intolerance.
Wheat and dairy are both common culprits and you only have to think about how often you eat toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a pile of pasta for dinner to realise how easy it is to radically over-consume and overload the body. Instead, avoid eating the same foods on consecutive days.
If you think you may already be suffering from an intolerance try eliminating the suspected food from your diet for two to four weeks and then reintroduce it to see if symptoms return, or have a food intolerance test by a qualified therapist (it's painless and only takes around an hour).
If you find out that your usual lunchtime ciabatta is not doing you any favours, then it's a matter of cleansing your system of the problem food for a number of weeks to give your body chance to recover.
A word of caution
Whenever you cut out a food from your regular diet make sure that you include substitute foods to ensure that you don't lose essential nutrients. If you have any health problems, you should contact your GP before making radical changes to your diet.
So, whether you swap your sandwich for sushi or hang up your steak knife for good, make the changes in 2008 and discover a new healthier, happier you.
