ABU DHABI // The number of people in the UAE developing intolerance to food products, especially milk, wheat and gluten, has risen, according to nutrition experts.
Stephanie Karl, a clinical nutritionist at J T S Medical Centre Dubai, said while some people are born with an intolerance, others are dealing with the consequences of a poor diet.
She said that over the last 50 years many new food products have been introduced that were not well recognised by the digestive function. Over time, this had caused damage that ultimately could not be tolerated in the body.
“Processed foods are very foreign to our digestion. The lack of fibre in refined grains does not help, and increased white flour and sugar feeds unsuitable bacterias and yeast,” she said.
“Poor immunity, caused by picky eating and genetically modified foods, may be the biggest drivers for the exponential increase in food intolerance.”
Ms Karl said food intolerance was related to the “health of your digestive tract, pancreas and digestive lining”.
Intolerance means that the body does not accept certain kinds of food and forms excessive antibodies in response, leading to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, obesity and hyperactivity.
Food allergies and food intolerance also should not be confused.
“Food allergies usually, but not always, result in an immediate and often very severe reaction and are mediated by a different set of antibodies,” Ms Karl said.
Symptoms can include anaphylaxis, skin reactions, vomiting, sneezing and swelling.
Dr Marlon Pereira, a specialist clinical pathologist at J T S Medical Centre, said that unlike a true allergy, food intolerance could occur in periods that varied from three weeks to even years after the continuous consumption of the wrong food. “One should always consult a nutritionist and seek advice on how to balance a diet without using intolerant food.”
He advised that children from the age of five and upwards should take a food intolerance test if they faced a health problem when no answer was found.
Sarah Khan discovered her 14-year-old son Ali suffered from food intolerances about 18 months ago.
“He went through the test, which was a blood test, and he was considered severely intolerant to chicken and yeast, moderately intolerant to other poultry, some types of cheese and millet, and mildly intolerant to several foods including lamb, mushrooms and certain fish,” the Pakistani said.
Ali had not been doing well at school and had had a history of eczema.
His physician suggested exploring his tolerance to food. Ali’s health has markedly improved since the foods he was intolerant of were cut out.
A food intolerance test costs between Dh1,500 to Dh2,000. Most insurance packages do not cover it.
akhaishgi@thenational.ae
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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Jetour T1 specs
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Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
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Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
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ARSENAL
- FA Cup - 2005
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CHELSEA
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- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
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