Is it a Food Allergy or Food Intolerance?

By Carly Thompson-Memmer, PhD Student

You have undoubtedly met someone or know of someone who has either a food allergy or food intolerance. It is important to understand the differences between the two terms since each condition’s symptoms can vary in severity.

Food Allergy

A food allergy is an immune system response. This means that when a specific food is eaten, the body mistakes the food as being harmful and therefore defends the body by producing antibodies to fight the “invader”. This reaction can be mild, such as redness in the face or indigestion. However, reactions can rapidly progress to become life-threatening, such as anaphylactic shock.

There are more than 170 foods known to cause food allergies; however, eight specific foods are responsible for 90 percent of all food-related allergic reactions.

Those eight foods include:

• Milk

• Eggs

• Peanuts

• Tree nuts (walnuts, cashews)

• Fish (salmon, cod, tuna)

• Shellfish (shrimp, lobster)

• Soy

• Wheat

Symptoms of food allergies generally appear within a few minutes, but sometimes take up to two hours after eating the food item.

Also, be mindful that many cosmetics and beauty products may contain common allergens such as tree nuts, wheat, milk and eggs. If you notice a product causes redness, blotchiness, itching or irritates the skin, you should discontinue use and find another product.

Food Intolerance

A food intolerance is a digestive system response. This means that people may not be able to properly digest a certain food, or they experience digestive issues when they eat a specific food.

Most food intolerances are discovered through trial and error to determine which food/s cause the problem. You may want to try slowly eliminating possible culprits from your diet to see if your symptoms lessen. The list of eight foods above may be a good place to start when you begin to eliminate foods. However, you may want to consider meeting with a registered dietician if symptoms persist or if you think you have several intolerances.

Common Differences

About 1percent of adults and 7 percent of children have food allergies, however food intolerances are much more common. For example, the most common food intolerance, lactose (found in dairy products), affects approximately 10 percent of Americans.

A food allergy can be triggered by small amounts of the food; that is why some people may need to know how a food was prepared because they want to avoid possible cross-contamination. Conversely, people with a food intolerance may be able to consume small amounts of a food that causes them issues in larger amounts. For example, someone who is lactose intolerant may be able to consume cheese that is part of a salad but would have digestive issues if eating a cream-based soup. a photos: shutterstock.com