FOOD ALLERGIES: they have? Or they don’t have?

BY: Claire O. Flores

Food allergies can be confusing to figure out. Once a food item has wreaked havoc on any part
of your body, whether it’s an itchy rash or a bout of diarrhea, it’s easy to dismiss that reaction as
an allergy. But how many of us actually have true food allergies?

Even though common wisdom holds that allergies of all kinds have been on the rise in recent
years, researchers actually have very little data on allergies in adults since many of them never
get diagnosed by a physician.

To understand how they came to this conclusion, we first have to understand the difference
between a true food allergy and a food intolerance, both of which can seem similar to the
untrained eye.

Not everyone with a true food allergy will have the same symptoms. Conversely, people with
food intolerances, like lactose intolerance, for example Dairy, only get digestive symptoms. And
listen, we're not here to dismiss the severity of your allergy issues. If you're in genuine pain after
you eat dairy, shellfish, or eggs, it might be best for you to avoid them.

Allergic Asthma and Immunology, these kinds of food intolerances are caused by enzyme
deficiencies or some sensitivity to particular chemicals in food (natural or otherwise). Allergies,
rather, must invoke the immune system.

A LIST OF ALLERGIC REACTION SYMPTOMS was discovered and came up with a set of
stringent symptoms that they thought indicated a "convincing" or true food allergy:

 Hives  Wheezing
 Swelling (except lip and tongue)  Vomiting
 Lip/tongue swelling  Chest pain
 Difficulty swallowing  Rapid heart rate
 Throat tightening  Fainting, dizziness, or feeling
 Chest tightening lightheaded
 Trouble breathing  Low blood pressure

You may notice that belly pain, cramps, diarrhea, and nausea aren’t on that list, even though
those might be common complaints you hear about from friends who say they have allergies. At
least as far as these researchers are concerned, those people don’t have allergies. They have some
kind of food intolerance.

Half of the people who think they have food allergies actually don't. But that doesn’t mean
you’re imagining things. Much like prior data, the most common adult food allergies in
descending order were shellfish, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and fin fish (egg, wheat, soy, and
sesame followed, in that order).

In that case, you don’t have to worry about avoiding certain foods at all costs, you just probably
don't want to eat them unintentionally. And if you do turn out to have an allergy, then getting a
diagnosis means getting proper counseling about how to take precautions and potentially getting
a prescription just in case. And knowing more about your body is always a good thing.

Source:
www.popsci.com
worldwidescience.org