What’s the Difference?
The symptoms of food allergy and food sensitivity are very similar, but have completely different causes. If you have a true food allergy, your body reacts quickly and dramatically, using the same system it would if you had hay fever and inhaled a lot of pollen all at once. In response to your eating the offending food, certain cells release the chemical histamine, which can cause you to start sneezing, wheezing, or break out in hives.
What is one of the main differences between a food allergy and a food sensitivity?One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is in the amount of time it takes to display symptoms. A true allergy shows symptoms very quickly, while a food sensitivity may take a few hours to present.
The mechanism behind a food sensitivity is completely different and does not involve histamine release. With a sensitivity, hours after eating the culprit food, and after it is partially digested, large, incompletely digested molecules “leak” through your intestinal wall. These “mega-molecules” latch on to specific antibodies (termed
Lactose intolerance generally develops in middle age and runs in families and certain ethnic groups. Since humans really only need milk products when they are children, it is not surprising that the ability to digest this particular food group would lessen as people grow older.
Gluten intolerance (celiac disease) is not an allergy nor does it involve an enzyme. Rather, for reasons unknown, gluten itself becomes toxic to the delicate cells of the small intestine and virtually destroys them, impairing their ability to absorb food. The only treatment for this illness is total avoidance of gluten.
No one knows why some people are allergic or sensitive to some foods, but not others. Some allergies, like peanut allergies, are more likely to run in families, so there is some genetic component. Stress has been shown to play a role in allergic reactions. You may show an allergic response to a food for a period of time—even years—but it can disappear for random periods of time. Reactions may reappear when some other stress is present.
As opposed to true food allergies, people develop food sensitivities when they eat the same food day in and day out.
For example, after learning they have developed wheat sensitivity, some people realize they have been eating and snacking on one wheat product or another three or four times a day for years. It’s really not known why some people develop gluten sensitivity.
Some food offenders can be difficult to identify because the food “trigger” may be found in a wide variety of products. Corn, for example, can appear not only in corn flakes, or canned corn, but might also sweeten a wheat-based breakfast cereal with high-fructose corn syrup. You may become sensitive to preservatives and additives found in processed and packaged food. For example, inulin is an additive made of fruit residues that can be found in butter, ice cream, yogurt, cereals and jams.
Other common food triggers include:
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Artificial additives (MSG, coloring, and so on)
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Artificial sweeteners
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Citrus (mostly oranges)
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Coffee and caffeine
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Corn and corn derivatives
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Dairy products
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Eggs
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Peanuts
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Shellfish
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Soy
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Wheat and refined flour
Symptoms commonly associated with food intolerances include, but are not limited to, digestive symptoms such as nausea, gas, bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Nondigestive symptoms include fatigue, brain “fog,” sinus congestion, asthma, joint and muscle pain, skin rashes, and a general feeling of chronic ill health.
If you are having a mild food allergy reaction with facial swelling and hives, taking an over-the-counter antihistamine may be helpful to relieve your symptoms. There is no magic pill that can let you eat peanut butter or shellfish if you are prone to having a severe reaction. If, however, you are experiencing wheezing or shortness of breath, you should immediately go to an emergency room for treatment. The major risk for severe allergies is the potential of going into life-threatening anaphylactic shock. You may also wish to wear some type of medical alert bracelet in case of a severe allergy reaction.
If you or someone in your family has a severe food allergy, you may want to consider purchasing Food Allergy Restaurant Cards to share at restaurants you frequent, which explain the food allergy, warns about cross-contamination, lists potentially dangerous foods and ingredients, and tells when to call 911.
