Did you ever try to think why are you becoming sick from eating specific foods? Although many of you experience adverse reactions by consuming certain foods, it doesn’t mean that you have food allergy.
Illness, which is caused due to eating specific foods, is mainly because of the reason that your body fails to process or digest properly.
A true food allergy, which results from adverse reactions triggered by your body immune system, is very uncommon. Only about 6% of adults and 2% of children can have chances to experience a true food allergy.
Don’t confuse between food allergies and food intolerances!
More often, food allergies and food intolerances are usually confused by many people. But, these two health conditions are quite different from each other with respect to its symptoms, treatment and origin. So, to avoid confusion between food allergies and food intolerances, here are few points which can help you to distinguish between food allergies and food intolerances.
Involvement of immune system:
Usually, true food allergic reactions mainly involve your body immune system. When your body identifies any specific kind of food that is harmful for you, immediately it produces certain antibodies against potential food allergens.
As a result, you will experience various allergic symptoms; where as with food intolerances, it doesn’t involve any kind of immunologic reactions, but it can possibly develop various reactions like bloating, or development of gas in your body.
Adverse reactions:
Allergic reactions involved with food allergy can range from mild to severe and even the amount of food that can trigger allergic symptoms also varies form one individual to another.
Some of the most common allergic reactions associated with food allergy can mainly include rash, diarrhea, itchy skin, chest pain, and swelling of airways, which pass into lungs. You can also feel shortness of breath, anaphylaxis and also stomach pain.
If you have food intolerance, then you can possibly feel severe stomach pain, heartburn or GERD, and abdominal cramps. You can also feel severe headache, irritability, nausea and also vomiting.
Consumption level:
Food allergies are easily triggered even with smaller amount of food and can repeatedly occur whenever you eat that particular type of food. If you have food allergies, then you are strictly requested to avoid all those offending foods entirely.
On the other hand, food intolerance often depends up on the dosage levels. People with food intolerances might not have any symptoms unless they eat larger amounts of food or eat the food frequently.
Even, food intolerances and food allergies are rather different from food poisoning. So, whenever you face any kind of abnormal health problems, then immediately consult your personal health care provider and seek better treatment for your problem.
