Food Allergy and Food Intolerance
Article by Gerda Kriel & Photos by Chris
“What is food to one, is to others bitter poison” - Titus Lucretius Carus
A
food allergy is caused by
your immune system
treating harmless proteins found in certain
foods as a threat. It releases chemicals, which then triggers an allergic
reaction. The immune system protects the body by producing antibodies.
tially life-threatening and must be
treated as a medical emergency,
requiring immediate treatment and
urgent medical attention. Anaphylaxis is a generalised allergic reaction, which often involves more
than one body system (e.g. skin,
respiratory, gastro-intestinal and
cardiovascular).
In the most common type of food
allergy, an antibody known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) mistakenly
targets a certain protein found in
food as a threat. IgE can cause several chemicals to be released, the
most important being histamine.
Food intolerance refers to any adverse (untoward) reaction to food
or food additives. A common example is lactose intolerance. This is
due to the lack of the enzyme lactose, which is essential for the digestion of the milk sugar lactose.
Histamine causes most of the typical symptoms that occur during an
allergic reaction. For example,
•small blood vessels expand and
the surrounding skin becomes red
and swollen
•it affects nerves in the skin, causing itchiness
•it increases the amount of mucus
produced in your nose lining,
which causes itching and a burning
sensation
In most food allergies, the release
of histamine is limited to certain
parts of the body, such as your
mouth, throat or skin.
Another example of non-allergic
food intolerance is the reaction
caused by naturally occurring
chemicals in food, or by food additives (chemical reaction). These reactions are similar to true allergic
responses and may be mistakenly
labelled as food allergy. Food additives include a variety of substances, such as preservatives, flavouring agents, colouring agents, etc.
Well-known examples are tartrazine, monosodium glutamate
(MSG), sulphur dioxide and benzo-
In Anaphylaxis, the most severe
form of an allergic reaction, the
immune system goes into overdrive
and releases massive amounts of
histamine and many other chemicals into your blood, It is poten-
The best treatment
for either
food allergy or
food intolerance
is to avoid the food.
ates.
You need to carefully check ingredient labels of food products. You
should learn other names for the
food or ingredients to be sure not
to eat them.
When you eat out, you should be
extra careful. Waiters (and sometimes the kitchen staff) may not
always know every dish ingredient
on the restaurant’s menu.
Cooking for a family where one or
more person is allergic to some
food can be a challenge: you either
have to make separate dishes, or
the other family members also
have to adapt to the allergen-free
eating habits.
We have had to adapt our cooking
to accommodate my allergies and
intolerances: I can’t eat dairy products, gluten or anything preserved
with sulphur dioxide – quite a challenge, but some of these adaptations have been pronounced as
better than the original recipe by
the family!
Gluten is the primary protein found
in wheat, barley, oats and rye. Gluten forms the framework of cells
that trap the carbon dioxide generated by fermentation of sugar by
yeast. This trapping generates the
expansion of the dough (rising)
and ultimately the texture of the
bread.