Why Your Food Allergy Is Probably a Food Intolerance
3 Comments | Written on January 25, 2012 at 1:00 pm, by Lesley Kennedy
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You’ve cut out peanuts. And shellfish. No soy. No wheat. No dairy. Sorry, but those food allergies you think you have may not be real.
“Research shows that as many as 20 percent of people claim to have food allergies when the number is actually around 3 to 4 percent,” Hugh Sampson, director of New York’s Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells the Washington Post.
Sure, some of those folks may experience “nonallergic symptoms” when they eat specific items, but those reactions aren’t from food allergies, according to the newspaper.
However, while actual food allergies affect fewer folks than claimed, the Post reports life-threatening food allergies are on the rise, with one report showing more peanut and tree nut allergies in kids. Why? That remains a mystery, the Post adds.
So, what’s the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance to certain food, anyway? According to the newspaper, a food allergy, which can, in some cases, be fatal without medication, “is an abnormal response to food triggered by the immune system.
“Within minutes to hours of coming in contact with even a trace amount of something they’re allergic to, people might experience symptoms in their gastrointestinal tract (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), on their skin (itching, swelling, hives) and in their respiratory system (congested, runny or itchy nose; sneezing, coughing or wheezing).”
Pleasant, huh?
A food intolerance, on the other hand, happens when certain foods cause digestive symptoms—think gas, bloating, diarrhea—or symptoms such as migraines, the Post reports, with lactose, fructose, cheese, chocolate, and wine among common triggers.
Also pleasant. No wonder people get them confused.
Not sure if you’re allergic to a food or just sensitive to it? Time to book an appointment with a specialist, the newspaper advises. Life is too short to start cutting out cheese, chocolate and Chardonnay prematurely.
Categories:
Food News | Tags: Fish and Seafood, Gluten Free, Nuts
3 Comments | Post Your Comment
3 Responses to “Why Your Food Allergy Is Probably a Food Intolerance”
Well, something may be labeled an “intolerance” rather than an “allergy,” but that doesn’t mean it’s OK to have in your diet or somehow not really a problem. THis is a question of semantics. If someone cannot tolerate a food for whatever reason, they aren’t going to magically be able to because you told them they’re using the wrong word!
Sue, I’ve found that in addition to MSG, I do not tolerate citric acid. Natural citrus is fine, it’s citric acid that is added to processed foods that is a big problem.
Regarding soups, many broths, particularly in commercial settings like a restaurant, contain MSG. While the restaurant is accurately reporting that they do not add MSG, the broth (especially stock enhancers restaurants often use) contains MSG. Just a few thoughts from my own lengthy experience with extreme additive issues.
What about the additives? I know I get diarrhea from MSG….but there is something else that gives it to me sometimes when eating out. It has to be additives (I call them chemicals) cause I can eat the same thing someplace else and don’t have the problem. Most soups will bother me, for one.