Huffington Post: Food Allergies And Intolerance - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

This article is about food allergies and was in honor of food allergy awareness week (in the UK) . But they ignore all allergies that do not produce the classic symptoms or that are mediated by non-IgE antibodies.

Medical science has clearly demonstrated that there are food allergies outside of this group. But this paper only allows that there are intolerances, mostly enzyme deficiencies (such as lactose intolerance).

Food allergies mediated by other antibodies, and those the produce non-classical symptoms need to be recognized by so-called "evidence based" medical doctors. The evidence has been published for years and some of it can be found at FoodAllergyInfo.org.

From the Huffington Post:

Nearly a quarter of adults think food allergy or intolerance sufferers as just ‘fussy’ eaters, yet 45% of the British population are living with a food intolerance and 2% with a food allergy.

In light of Food Allergy & Intolerance Week, we’ve got the lowdown on what it means to have a food allergy, how it’s diagnosed and what treatment is available.

What Is A Food Allergy?

In the UK, around one to two people in every 100 suffer from a food allergy. If you have an allergy, it means that your body's immune system have an adverse reaction to specific proteins in food or allergen - a mostly harmless substance that causes an allergic reaction in those prone to attacks.

Normally, your body's immune system defends against potentially harmful substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins. In some people, a immune response is triggered by a substance that is generally harmless, such as a specific food.

An allergic reaction happens when the body's immune system mistakes the allergen, for example nuts or shellfish, for a harmful outsider and begin to produce antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE) to protect it.

Although the initial process rarely has any symptoms, the next time you eat the food, the antibodies are ready to react with it. This causes your body to release chemicals, which leads to a range of physical symptoms known as an allergic reaction. Allergens aren't usually harmful and most people aren't sensitive to them.

It’s quite common that if you have one food allergy, you may also react to other foods. For instance, if you're allergic to prawns, other shellfish or crustaceans may also affect you. This is called cross-reactivity.

Continue reading this article at the source.

More information on food allergies at CenterforFoodAllergies.com