> Today, an astonishing 20% of British people believe that they are allergic to certain foods. Indeed, it has become almost trendy in modern British society to blame everything ~ from tiredness and irritability to stomach pain, bloating and migraines - on food allergies. In truth, though, Britain’s obsession with food allergies is largely all in the mind. According to a major study carried out by the British Nutrition Foundation, most self-diagnosed cases of food allergy are entirely flawed, Food allergies are actually quite rare. In reality, ‘only around 2% of British adults and no more than 6% of British children have a food allergy. [D> So why do so many British people mistakenly believe they suffer from them? One explanation lies in the way the media greatly exaggerates the likelihood of people having a food allergy. You can't pick up a health magazine these days without some so-called health expert warning you that your ailments may be due to allergic reactions to one food or another. In truth, there are numerous reasons why foods can affect us in a negative way and it is rarely because we are allergic to them. [> But what exactly is a food allergy? Although they can arise at any stage in life, the majority of food allergies emerge In a person's early years. Symptoms typically occur after the subject has ingested even the tiniest trace of the offending food. These may include nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhoea, hives or the swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat. Life- threatening allergic reactions are known as anaphylavis, and can cause breathing difficulties, dangerously low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and in the most extreme cases, death [D> Basically, a food allergy is the immune system's response to a protein in a food that it wrongly identifies as dangerous. Dr Carina Venter, an allergy specialist at the University of Portsmouth, explains: “in an allergic reaction, when the offending food is swallowed, the immune system produces a massive storm of antibodies to fight the protein it believes is harmful These antibodies attack the body's own the allergic reaction” [> In principle, any food can cause an allergic reaction, butin practice relatively few do. In children, the ‘most common food allergies are to eggs, peanuts, milk, shellfish and soy. For adults there tends to be a more limited list of culprits including fish, shellfish and peanuts. Fortunately, many children outgrow their allergies to milk, eggs and soy by the time they are ‘about 10 years old if they avoid the foods when they are young. Allergies to peanuts and shelifish, however, tend, tobe lifelong. [> A food allergy should not be confused with an intolerance to a certain food which is completely different. Food intolerance is not caused by the immune system but instead the digestive system. Itis usually due toa deficiency of a particular digestive enzyme that is needed to break down a food. The classic example of food intolerance is lactose intolerance, in which people experience nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain after ‘consuming milk. People often confuse food intolerances with allergies because they share some of the same symptoms. However, food intolerance reactions usually take longer to develop than allergic reactions, though are not life-threatening, and usually require significant amount of the trigger food to be ingested. Like food allergies, though, food intolerances are relatively rare, Experts estimate that no more than 436 of the general population suffer from them. [> It seems, therefore, that for most British people, their allments have nothing to do with allergies or Intolerances to food. So why are people suffering from stomach pain, bloating and fatigue? Perhaps the answer lies with diet. Like most first-world countries, British people eat far too much junk food and not enough fresh frult and vegetables. Rather than blame allergies and Intolerances, perhaps British people need to own up to the fact they are causing their own health complaints, sues, causing Scanned with CamScannerRead the text and for questions 1-6 choose the best answer A, B, Cor D. 1n the first paragraph, the writer tells us that ‘A. the number of people with food allergies is rising. B_ many health problems are due to food allergies. © more adults have food allergies than children. D_ritish people have wrong beliefs about food allergies. In the third paragraph, the writer gives the impression that food allergies usually start early in life and are severe. don't usually cause severe health problems. mostly affect babies and young children. are mostly caused by eating a lot of a certain food. gop People suffer from allergic reactions because ‘A their bodies don't produce enough antibodies. B they consume too much protein. © their immune system doesn't work properly. D they cant digest a certain food, Compared to adults, children A suffer allergies from a wider range of foods. B are likely to be allergic to fewer foods. € have more serious allergic reactions. D are less likely to suffer a food allergy. ‘A food intolerance is caused by ‘A consuming too much lactose. B_ consuming too much food in general. © having too much of something in the body. 1D having a lack of something in the body. The main purpose of the article is to ‘A. argue that people have wrong beliefs about {food allergies. B inform people about how to recognise, allergies and intolerances. © warn people about the dangers of food allergies. D explain the differences between allergios and intolerances. 8 Nearly half the Match the words in bold in the text with their synonyms below. lacklabsence * quite large + surprising + imagined + incorrect * harmful * theoretical + expert + enormous + existing for a porson's entire life + begin to exist * eaten + admit * wrongly + health problems Find words in the text which mean the opposite of the following words. + unfashionable * common + underestimate + minority * gain * mild » tiny * harmless + deny I in: consciousness, population, symptoms, cilments, response, obsession, traces, likelihood. 1 Finding a cure for the disease became a(n) for the scientist. . of poison were ound in the ill man's food. 3 Minor . ‘common cold usually don't requir 4 There is a greater of you having an allergy it your parents had one. like the 5 Common of the flu include coughing and fever. 6 Afever is the immune symptom’s sown 10 a Vitus it has detected. 7 The man lost when he was hit on the head but came around an hour tater. live in the country’s capital city. 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