At the same time there was a meet up of all the regional managers in The Netherlands, except for us in Australia...maybe next time!
Locally we also welcome Demi as our new Business Development manager and to support some new education initiatives starting off with our eLearning platform soon.
Here is a quick breakdown of what digestive enzymes are, how they relate to intolerances, and how Intoleran can help those who don’t have enough natural enzymes in their body.
Digestive enzymes aren’t a fancy, external substance. They are proteins that are naturally created right in the body. These proteins serve a specific function: to help you break down food.
Different enzymes break down different foods and are created in various areas of the digestive tract. This starts with the mouth, where enzymes are released and activated in your saliva. More enzymes join in the process in areas like the stomach and intestines.
While enzymes are found throughout the digestive tract, John Hopkins Medicine refers to the pancreas as the “enzyme powerhouse of digestion.” This comes from its critical role in creating digestive enzymes to help with the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates, and other proteins.
There are many different enzymes that the body has to produce. These aid in breaking down a variety of different food elements, such as lactose, fructose, fructans, galactans, starch, sucrose, and histamine.
When you lack enough of an enzyme, it can lead to a food intolerance. This is different from a food allergy. The latter is rooted in a reaction from your immune system and can be very dangerous. The former is simply an inability to fully break down food in your digestive system. This usually isn’t dangerous but can be very uncomfortable.
That’s where Intoleran can come to the rescue.
Intoleran tablets, capsules, and drops are designed to support the body’s own enzymes and help them do their job. When a problematic piece of food enters the digestive system, Intoleran provides the enzymes that the body may be lacking to properly break it down. This reduces the symptoms of a food intolerance, such as bloating or gas.
After taking the supplement the enzymes work for 30 to 45 minutes by filling your digestive system with an extra dose of an enzyme that is typically lacking.
We’re careful to target our products to provide enzymes with minimal additional ingredients and no additives. For instance, our Lactase enzyme is made with just three ingredients:
That’s it. We ensure that each product is providing quality enzymes and nothing else so that your body can focus on digesting food without causing you pain or discomfort along the way.
It may sound simple, but the results can be life-changing.
]]>Intoleran’s digestive enzymes have been a game-changer for countless adults around the world. But what about children?
Is it safe to give a digestive enzyme to a child? If so, at what age? Which kind? Let’s break it down?
Many children suffer from digestive issues. At times, these are serious conditions. In particular, it’s estimated that 4-8% of children suffer from a true food allergy. That means their immune system is reacting to a certain kind of food in a negative way.
To be clear, food allergies are dangerous and should always be handled with the input from a medical professional.
However, it’s worth noting that more than a third of parents and/or children report various food allergy-like symptoms. This could be a rash, nausea, diarrhea, or something similar.
When these symptoms appear without other allergic symptoms, there’s a chance that the child has something other than an allergy. One option is that they’re suffering from an intolerance.
Rather than an immune system reaction, an intolerance is simply an inability for the body to properly digest certain foods in an effective manner. Again, the presence of an intolerance should always be confirmed with a doctor or other qualified medical professional.
If you find that your child suffers from an intolerance, the next question is, can Intoleran help?
Intoleran is based on a simple concept: giving the body a dose of the digestive enzymes that it’s missing just before you eat a troublesome food. While this is excellent for adults, many care givers wonder if they can give Intoleran to youngsters.
In general, the answer is yes. Intoleran is overwhelmingly a safe product to use. But there are a few things to keep in mind.
The first is that our products are usually good for consumption over the age of two years old with a couple of exceptions. For instance, our product once a day is recommended for ages four and up.
Cozidase is also suitable for children four years and older due to its B6 content. However, in some cases, it’s possible to take one capsule per day for children three years of age. Just make sure to consult with a professional — like one of our on-staff dietitians — first.
On the other side of the equation, our Lactase Drops work for any age. You can even use it to help a baby. If that’s the case, we advise using one lactase drop for every 50 ml of milk product. You can give the child the drop directly or mix it into the milk.
Intoleran is a great digestive solution for children living with an intolerance — especially if it’s difficult to monitor their food intake.
We even provide many of our products in small, easy-to-swallow tablets. In many cases, you can also get a capsule form, which can be broken so that you can sprinkle the powdery contents into a drink or spread it over food.
From convenience to a lack of pain, we are proud of the fact that our digestive enzymes can ease the discomfort of children and adults alike when they’re faced with the prospect of living with an intolerance.
]]>Here, we offer an answer to that important question, as well as a brief explanation.
The short answer to this question is yes. There should be no danger associated with consuming Intoleran supplements, either when pregnant or breastfeeding.
While this is the case, we do remind everyone that it is always wise to confirm the use of any medical or supplemental health product with your personal healthcare provider. Every situation is different, and it’s always important to seek the advice of someone who is professionally trained and intimately aware of your own medical health.
With that said, there is no reason to avoid Intoleran supplements when pregnant and breastfeeding. This is because our products utilize a highly-targeted solution that is solely designed to support the digestive system.
Intoleran supplements are created with one goal in mind. That is to help the body digest its food, and by extension, avoid a plethora of unwanted side effects such as bloating, cramping, and gas.
This is done by providing enzymes that are targeted toward different food intolerances. These are enzymes the body normally makes itself for the digestive system. Enzymes operate according to the lock and key theory. In layman’s terms, this means each enzyme “fits” into a particular kind of digesting food much like a key and a lock.
This gives them a very specific and singular function in the digestive process. They can’t impact other areas of the body and, once ingested through the mouth, they will naturally leave through the other end of the digestive tract when their job is done.
Along with the safety of enzymes themselves, Intoleran follows extremely strict guidelines to make sure each and every product it creates is of the highest quality. This starts with in-house production. The Intoleran team creates the brand’s signature enzyme supplements right in its own production facility in the Netherlands. They follow strict HACCP guidelines and are in the process of certification for ISO 13485 for medical devices, as well.
Along with its own scrupulous manufacturing standards, Intoleran is also rigorous with its ingredients and formulas. This begins with careful sourcing of local ingredients — 95% of which are purchased right in Europe. These are simple and clean, with no additives. They are assembled into Intoleran’s signature formulas through a handmade production method, which is as pure and effective as possible.
To top it off, Intoleran is even Monash Certified. This means our products have been formally approved by the highly prestigious Monash University, which is an important figure in the food intolerance scene.
From quality and standards to the simplicity and single-application nature of our ingredients, there is nothing to cause any kind of concern when it comes to taking Intoleran products — even when pregnant or breastfeeding. So, if you’re suffering from digestive issues as you navigate the additional stressors and health concerns of pregnancy, ask your doctor about utilizing Intoleran enzyme supplements as a way to create some relief, put your digestive system at ease, and allow yourself the opportunity to fully enjoy your food once again.
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Everybody loves to eat, but not everyone chooses to eat the same things. From health-related reasons to personal taste to lifestyle choices, there are many reasons people follow certain dietary restrictions.
If you’re a vegan, you follow one of the more strict dietary guidelines out there. Fortunately, Intoleran has gone above and beyond to make as many of our products vegan-friendly as possible. That way they can help you manage any food intolerances you may be managing while working with a more limited number of food choices.
If you care enough about your food to adopt and maintain a vegan lifestyle, you probably don’t just want a quick “yeah, it’s vegan” as an answer. You want details, and we’ve got them for you.
To start off, at Intoleran, simple ingredients are the name of the game. The motivation behind this is easy. The simpler our products are, the more people can use them.
With that said, we make it a point to only use ingredients that are absolutely needed for each product to work. No unnecessary additives. Nothing else at all. Period.
We also produce our products in our own production facility right here in the Netherlands. We source 95% of our ingredients from our European neighbors, too
This allows us to offer a high-quality, carefully manufactured dietary enzyme supplement that is sleek and minimalistic, but still very effective.
For example, our Lactase capsule contains three total ingredients: the lactase enzyme, a small quantity of Calcium Carbonate as a filler, and the HPMC Capsule — which is also vegan.
If you think that sounds reasonable, so do we. But apparently many of our competitors don’t agree, as most of their products feature long lists of ingredients, many of which seem completely unnecessary for a dietary enzyme supplement to work.
On a fundamental level, we feel very confident saying that our products aren’t just vegan in theory. Our simplistic formulas and clean manufacturing processes make our products truly vegan — at least most of them.
There are a couple of exceptions, though. The first of these is our Once-a-Day capsules. While close to vegan guidelines, these are only vegetarian. In addition, our DAO Plus and DAO Mini are not vegan.
That’s it. The rest of our products are all vegan, and very helpful if you’re dealing with a food intolerance!
The only other issue a vegan might face when using our products is the simple fact that some of the supplements won’t apply. For example, the aforementioned Lactase is for managing a lactose intolerance — something that vegans wouldn’t need to worry about.
Our goal from day one has been to help as many people as possible enjoy food again. With that in mind, we’ve done everything in our power to ensure that our products work for vegans as much as anyone else living with an intolerance.
We welcome vegans to try our products (with a few exceptions as noted above) and experience the freedom that comes when you aren’t facing the symptoms of a food intolerance on a daily basis.
]]>One pair of health terms that are often misconstrued is food intolerances and food allergies. Most people know that there is a difference between these two titles. In addition, most know that an intolerance is less of a “big deal” than an allergy.
But what’s the real difference between an intolerance and an allergy? That’s the question that we’re here to answer today.
While a food allergy is connected to eating, at its root, it isn’t related to your digestive system. Instead, a food allergy has to do with a negative response from your immune system.
According to Mayo Clinic, a food allergy is “an immune system reaction that occurs soon after eating a certain food.”
This reaction can occur from even a very small quantity of food. The health site reports that food allergies affect up to 8% of children under three and just 3% of adults.
Once triggered, an allergy can lead to a variety of symptoms, including:
The severity of these symptoms depends on each individual case. At times they can be minor. However, for some, an allergic reaction can lead to an extreme state known as anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening.
In contrast to a food allergy, a food intolerance is based on the digestive system and points to an inability to break down certain foods.
When describing a food intolerance, Cleveland Clinic succinctly says that “Food intolerance means your gut is sensitive to certain foods and can’t tolerate them.”
The site adds that a food intolerance develops when an individual isn’t able to make enough of a particular enzyme to break down a particular food ingredient that you’ve ingested.
When that happens, it can lead to a variety of less dangerous (though still severely uncomfortable at times) symptoms, such as:
Whereas an allergy can be triggered by any quantity of the unwanted substance, if a small amount of this substance is consumed it may not lead to any symptoms. (In addition, if you use one of Intoleran’s supplements, it can help eliminate these symptoms before they even appear — more on that, further down.)
While the threat is lower, the number of people that suffer from food intolerances is much higher. For example, it’s estimated that as much as 68% of the world’s population struggles with lactose malabsorption. When this leads to symptoms, it is officially labeled as lactose intolerance — something that as much as 50 million people suffer from in the United States alone.
As a quick aside, there is also a third category known as a food sensitivity. While some resources, like the above one from Cleveland Clinic, lump this in with food intolerances, Harvard Health defines food sensitivity as “symptoms that are not related to food intolerances, food allergies, or celiac disease.” It also describes them as an immune reaction to food that generates a multitude of non-life-threatening symptoms.
Allergies are a serious condition that should always receive medical attention. Those with an allergy should consult with their doctor to ensure that they have the proper preventative measures in place in the event of a significant reaction.
While they may not be as severe as a full-blown food allergy, having an intolerance can still significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. It can lead to limited choices at meals and serious levels of discomfort after the fact.
In addition, if someone suffers from multiple intolerances, it can lead to serious issues when they’re triggered at the same time.
Intoleran is designed to help people overcome this digestive issue. Our products allow individuals to enjoy food again by supporting the digestive tract with an extra dose of enzymes. These are usually targeted toward a particular intolerance — though our Quatrase Forte formula addresses multiple intolerances at the same time.
In fact, it’s worth pointing out that Quatrase Forte, in particular, can go beyond the function of managing a food intolerance. It can also be used as a tool to help those who generally suffer from undiagnosed digestive issues. Simply take a dose of Quatrase Forte taken with troublesome food and see if it makes a difference. If it does, you can begin to focus on the root cause of a food intolerance.
Whatever the intolerant or digestive need, Intoleran can help. What’s more, any unused enzymes that aren’t needed simply pass through the body without harm, making it a safe and effective form of dietary support.
Our supplements a powerful, effective, and safe way to manage any food intolerances. While they may not be as serious as an allergy, it’s important to take action to manage food intolerances, in the name of a healthier digestive tract and a happier overall lifestyle. Start that process with Intoleran today.
]]>Around my twentieth birthday I kept having stomach problems. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with lactose intolerance. I changed my diet and went on a low lactose diet. Unfortunately, that didn’t make all my symptoms disappear. In 2012 I went to study abroad for a year, in Istanbul, and there I ate all kinds of things I normally didn’t eat which were also a bit unhealthy. During that period my symptoms only got worse.
When I returned home I had several tests done and was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I was sent away with the following advice: “there is not much you can do about IBS, but try to eat lots of fibre and enough fruits and vegetables.”
In 2014, I came across the FODMAP diet. This sounded like the solution to my symptoms. I started following the diet and my symptoms lessened immediately. Now, 7 years later, I am still not completely free of symptoms. The reason for this is that I followed the FODMAP diet TOO strictly for TOO long which is not how the diet should be followed. I couldn’t control my symptoms and I stayed too long in the elimination phase of the diet.
Due to this, I am still working on making my gut stronger and healthier step by step. I do this by focusing on eating enough fibre from different types of products (fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, etc) and ensuring enough variety in my diet. In this way, I hope to slowly reduce my symptoms further. My symptoms are already much less than before I started the FODMAP diet. I know what my main triggers are a lot better now, which means I am therefore able to avoid them as much as possible.
Eating out and whilst away on holiday is a lot harder with this kind of intolerance and avoiding symptoms at these times can also be difficult. But the supplements from Intoleran help me a lot with that.
When I was eating low lactose for a few years, I came across the supplements from Intoleran (then named ‘Disolut’). I had tried some lactase tablets from other brands, but they didn’t help me very well. In retrospect, that was because I was using lactase tablets that were not strong enough.
Intoleran had supplements in high doses and they did work! If I simply took an extra pill or a supplement with a higher dose, I suddenly had no more symptoms. I was overjoyed that I could eat an ice cream again or drink a cappuccino without getting a stomach ache or having to buy expensive lactose-free products. I was even happier when Intoleran started offering supplements for different FODMAPs. After all, I also don’t tolerate fructose at all well, as well as fructans and galactans.
Fructose causes me to be very tired, to have a very bloated stomach and to sit on the toilet for hours at a time. It has happened a few times that I accidentally ate something in a restaurant that contained fructose and I suffered for days. Now, if I’m not 100% sure there’s no fructose in a dish at a restaurant, I just take an Intoleran supplement and then I’m not bothered by anything. That gives so much peace of mind!
When I’m at home I try to avoid the FODMAPs I don’t tolerate well and lactose as much as possible or use lactose-free products. But away from home I find the supplements from Intoleran to be real lifesavers.
I always take a supply of fibractase, fructase and lactase supplements (for lactose) with me when I go out to dinner or whilst away on holiday. I still try to make my meals as low FODMAP as possible, but it is nice to be able to take a pill just to be sure. This limits any complaints. Very occasionally, I also use them to just enjoy a product that I could never normally eat without a stomach ache, such as a spread with a little garlic in it, a fresh croissant or a delicious sandwich.
For a few years now, I have also been using once-a-day capsules regularly for longer periods of time. For example, during the holiday season, I take a daily once-a-day capsule and then I don’t have to think about lactose all day. That’s great! When you have a lot of FODMAPs to think about at once, it’s super helpful if you can forget about one of those groups for a while. That’s where these supplements really help me.
]]>Different diet in Italy
I was one of those lucky people who got to spend six months abroad for her studies – Italy; the country I had loved since my younger years. If not for the beautiful nature and charming villages, then for the delicious food, Italy was really the number one choice. You could always wake me up for pizza and pasta!
Therefore, when I was studying there, it was hard for me to say no to all those treats. At first I only felt my body changing as I gained pounds. Later on I experienced more discomfort. Sometimes I couldn’t go to the bathroom for days, and then I had to go ten times a day. I became more and more tired and noticed that my symptoms were getting worse. But it was only when my parents came to visit and were shocked at my health, that I called for help.
Hospital examinations
I was quickly taken seriously at the hospital because there is a history of Crohn’s disease and colon cancer in my family. The doctor wanted to rule out everything immediately, so I got a colonoscopy and CT scan. Fortunately, both showed nothing unusual, but the mystery of where my extreme abdominal pain came from remained, not to mention the fatigue I was experiencing.
Because they couldn’t find anything, I was diagnosed with IBS and chronic abdominal pain. That was the end of it. However, understandably, I wanted to get better, or at least to feel better! In agreement with the doctor I started the Fodmap Diet. That gave me a lot of relief in the first weeks. Later, when I started taking medication as well, I felt really fit again for the first time in a long time.
Current diet
Thanks to the Fodmap Diet and the use of Mebeverine & Magnesium Hydroxine I can now go through life largely complaint-free. But I found adapting my diet difficult. The fact that there were already a lot of foods I didn’t like and that now, I was also not allowed to eat almost all of the things I did like, was really difficult. The recipes from Karlijn’s Kitchen helped me a lot.
It wasn’t until later that I discovered Intoleran’s quatrase tablets. I wish I had known about them from the beginning! By taking the tablets, I can still occasionally enjoy pizza or pasta, at home or when eating out. I often take two tablets per course, so I can be sure that I won’t get any complaints. I also use lactase drops to make products with lactose, lactose free. That’s especially handy with mascarpone, for example. In short: the supplements from Intoleran allow me to let go of my worries and my strict diet more often, and that peace of mind is something I would like to see for everyone!
The FODMAP diet is a good way to find out which FODMAPs you are sensitive to. It is a demanding and complex diet that you should always follow under the guidance of a dietitian or other health professional. The diet usually consists of three phases:
The FODMAP diet is not an easy diet, it takes time and energy, so below you will find ten different tips that can help you follow the FODMAP diet.
Hopefully following the FODMAP diet will be a little easier with these tips.
GOOD LUCK!
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