Most of us have problems digesting food occasionally, but if you find recurring issues with certain foodstuffs, it’s quite likely you could have developed an allergy. Indeed, experts suggest that around a quarter of all people will have adverse reactions to food at least once in their lives – most commonly during early childhood or infancy (although problems can develop at any age).
The cause of food allergies and common reactions
Food allergies are caused by the human immune system triggering a response to a portion of food that it considers harmful to an individual. If the body recognizes a particular protein as potentially dangerous, it will trigger histamine to protect itself. This histamine can result in common allergic reactions, including:
- The development of hives on the skin
- Red or flushed skin or rashes
- A tingling sensation in the mouth – or sometimes an itchy feeling, again in the mouth
- Body swelling – most commonly of the throat, lips, tongue, or face
- Losing consciousness
- Finding it difficult to breathe
- Lightheadedness or sometimes a sense of dizziness
- Diarrhea or other problems passing stools
- Cramps in the stomach and abdomen
- Extreme coughing or wheezing when breathing
Allergic reactions can occur anywhere between a few minutes to a couple of hours following an allergen’s ingestion. It’s important to remember, in most cases, your body isn’t actually allergic to the food as such – it just senses the protein as being potentially hazardous, so it produces histamine as a way of protection. For this reason, many allergies are relatively short-term and may pass later in life. However, this is one of the key differences between a food allergy and food intolerance.
What is food intolerance?
Food intolerances are typified by the body’s inability to deal with certain types of food or liquids and trigger a non-immunological reaction – the opposite of food allergies, which cause immune reactions after digesting the allergen.
For example, a person who is allergic to milk could experience an immunological reaction such as hives or swelling after drinking milk. Conversely, someone with an intolerance to milk might suffer digestive issues due to their body’s inability to deal with the sugar lactose.
If you’re in any doubt about whether you might be suffering from food intolerance, you should check online for sites that can offer guidance. For example, the Intolerance Lab food intolerance test could help you identify and isolate foods that could be causing you problems.
Common intolerances include A1 casein, gluten, and lactose; however, individuals can also have problems with coloring or additional flavors added to food or some preservatives – all of which are far harder to detect (you must read labels carefully if you have a food intolerance). Other problems can be caused by sulfites present in some canned food and drink, dried nuts, and even some wines.
Dealing with food allergies or intolerances needn’t be particularly involved or complicated – but you must identify items that are causing issues early to avoid developing other, more significant problems further down the line.