Many people confuse Food allergy and food intolerances, but they’re two different things. Understanding the difference is important if you experience allergy-like symptoms after eating certain foods.

What is a Food Allergy? A food allergy occurs when your immune system overreacts to certain proteins in foods. When you consume foods you’re allergic to, it triggers immune cells in your bloodstream to release chemicals, such as histamine, that cause allergy symptoms

Hives, Skin rash Itching of the lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and face Redness or swelling of the lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and face Swelling of the skin around the eyes With a food allergy, your immune system mistakes proteins in certain foods as harmful, triggering an immune response. Food allergies can be mild or life-threatening. The most serious is called an anaphylactic reaction which causes symptoms

Although you can develop allergies at any time during life, they most commonly show up during childhood. However, according to food allergy.org, 40% of people who develop a food allergy to fish experience their first symptoms as an adult.

A skin prick test: A tiny amount of the suspected allergen is placed on the skin of your forearm or back. A technician then pricks your skin with a needle, so the substance seeps under the surface of your skin. A raised bump (hive) that appears within 15 minutes indicates an allergic reaction.
An allergy blood test: In this test, a small sample of blood is taken from you at a doctor’s office or lab and sent to a special testing facility. It takes about one week to get results from an allergy blood test.
Food challenge: If both an allergy blood test and skin prick test are negative, but you still suspect you’re allergic to certain foods, you may need to undergo an oral food challenge at an allergist’s office. For this procedure, you eat various amounts of the suspected allergen under medical supervision, while your doctor monitors for signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction.

A food intolerance is when your body reacts negatively to a food, beverage, or additive to a food. Yet a food intolerance is not an allergy, since it doesn’t activate your immune system. an allergic food reaction can be severe or life-threatening. In contrast, food intolerance symptoms mainly cause digestive symptoms. Food intolerances may be caused by low levels of enzymes needed to digest a particular food. For example, people with lactose intolerance are less efficient at digesting lactose, a natural sugar in milk and other dairy products. When they eat foods containing lactose, they may experience gastrointestinal symptoms, such as bloating and diarrhea.

Now you know the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance. When you’re allergic to a food, your immune system overreacts and causes potentially life-threatening symptoms. Food intolerances, however, don’t involve your immune system. Both can be problematic, though. The first step is to visit your doctor and make sure nothing else is going on. They may recommend allergy testing. If allergy tests are negative, you can work on identifying foods that may cause food intolerance symptoms

Source: This news is originally published by scitechdaily

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