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Food Intolerance Or Food Allergy?

If you find yourself experiencing bloating, abdominal pain or diarrhoea when you eat certain foods, you could be suffering from food intolerance.

Introduction

If you find yourself experiencing bloating, abdominal pain or diarrhoea when you eat certain foods, you could be suffering from food intolerance. Food allergies are often much more extreme, so what is the difference between food intolerance and food allergy?

  • Which foods cause food allergy?
  • Dos and Don'ts

Food intolerance is rarely harmful, but occurs when the body is unable to digest a certain type of food.

It is important to remember that food intolerance or sensitivity to a particular foodstuff is not to be confused with food allergy or an auto-immune response to a particular food type, such as coeliac disease.

Allergic reactions to foods can be severe and even life-threatening. Food intolerance is not as severe, but can mean you find it hard to digest certain foods and suffer some form of discomfort after eating them.

For example, people with severe allergies to food can have a reaction called anaphylactic shock. When someone has an anaphylactic reaction, they can have symptoms all over their bodies, including rashes on the skin, difficulty in breathing or swallowing due to swelling of the lips and throat, and a rapid fall in blood pressure and loss of consciousness.

Anaphylaxis can be fatal if it isn't treated immediately, usually with an injection of adrenaline (epinephrine). This is why it's extremely important for someone with a severe allergy to take their medication with them wherever they go.

Peanuts, eggs, fish and milk are the commonest foods which cause anaphylaxis in the UK.

To summarise, food intolerance does not involve the immune system, but if someone eats a food they are intolerant to, it can make them feel ill or affect their long-term health.

Which foods cause food allergy?

Any food can cause an allergic reaction, but 90 per cent of allergic reactions to food in the UK are caused by: 

  • Cereals containing gluten, such as wheat, rye, barley and oats
  • Shellfish and seafood - crabs, prawns, mussels and oysters
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Food additives, such as sulphur dioxide or sulphites
  • Milk
  • Mustard
  • Nuts - hazelnuts, brazil nuts, walnuts and almonds
  • Peanuts
  • Sesame seeds
  • Soya
  • Wheat

Dos and Don'ts

  • DO remember that occasional responses to food resulting in bloating and indigestion are normal
  • DO remember that food intolerance isNOTthe same as a food allergy which affects the immune system or food poisoning caused by toxic substances in food
  • DON'T eliminate a major foodgroup. If you suspect a food intolerance or allergy seek advice from your GP before making big changes to your diet

Clickthrough information and support links:

Grain Information Service
Allergy UK
Allergy and Allergies Agency
Food Standards Agency

 

 

 

 

 

 

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