Health&Wellness Magazine August 2014 | Page 7

For advertising information visit www.samplerpublications.com or call 859.225.4466 | August 2014 Intolerance or Allergy? By Fiona Young-Brown Many people remain confused about food allergies and food intolerances, but understanding the differences is key. If you are intolerant to a particular food, you might feel uncomfortable after eating it, perhaps experiencing a little stomach pain or intestinal inconvenience. On the other hand, eating something that you are allergic to can literally become a life or death matter. Food Intolerance An intolerance to a food is a digestive condition. You may be sensitive to a particular additive or component of the food, or you may have a particular enzyme deficiency. Other causes of food intolerance include: irritable bowel syndrome, food poisoning, and stress. Eating the food in question may or may not cause any reaction, but since it is digestive in nature, symptoms of an intolerance typically won’t surface until several hours after eating. It should be noted that lactose intolerance is not the same as a milk allergy, the former being rare in children but more common in adults. Food Allergy A true allergy to a food is related to your immune system rather than the digestive system. This means that not only can you not eat the food in question; even touching it or inhaling particles of it can make you very sick. This is why products such as peanut butter are increasingly banned from schools. The risk is not that the child with a peanut allergy will eat the sandwich. Simply being close to the sandwich could lead to the child going into anaphylactic shock. Similarly, someone with an allergy to shellfish may become very sick from kissing someone who ate some prawns earlier that day. In contrast to an intolerance, an allergic reaction will be instant. It may take many forms. The affected person may break into hives or experience swelling of the eyes and lips. They may experience vomiting and gastrointestinal distress (and it is this that may lead some people with an intolerance to believe they have an allergy instead). A more severe reaction is anaphylaxis, where the patient is unable to breathe and may lapse into unconsciousness. In these cases, an immediate dose of epinephrine is required, hence the Epi-Pens that many with severe allergies carry. Without immediate medical treatment, death may follow. Food allergens are usually proteins. Some of the most common food allergens are peanuts, eggs, shellfish, cow’s milk, and soy. An allergy may be present from infancy or it may develop at any time, even if you have previously been able to eat the food with no ill effects. Diagnosing an Allergy or Intolerance A food intolerance may be inconvenient to live with but typically requires that you simply avoid certain foods or take measures when that food is ingested (diarrhea or constipation remedies, for example). However, i