ABSTRACT
Idiopathic food intolerances are commonly presented as explanations for a variety of multisystem, general malaise symptoms. The attribution of these symptoms to foods has underlying issues and considerations parallel to the general problem of unsubstantiated complaints attributed to environmental intolerances. The patient was a middle-aged woman who complained of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerances and reported multisystem, general malaise complaints including cognitive dysfunction and incapacitating fatigue. The galvanic skin response was extremely active during baseline, reflecting sympathetic nervous system arousal associated with anxiety. There are numerous medical and psychiatric/psychological conditions that have been incorrectly attributed to foods. Beginning in the 1960s, foods and food additives became the focus as causes for attentional deficit disorders and hyperactivity, childhood dysfunctions that were receiving more media and social attention with the raised consciousness of the times. There is a distinction between food allergy/sensitivity and food aversion. Food aversion comprises both psychological avoidance and psychological intolerance.
