Allergy vs. Intolerance
Difference between allergy and intolerance: – Experiencing unpleasant physical reactions after eating certain foods is quite common, but what many people ignore when encountering a case of these or when you see yourself affected by this type of problem, is how to call it intolerance or allergy?
Difference between Allergy and Intolerance
A lot of people would not be able to explain the difference between allergy and intolerance when it comes to food. If you also have doubts about it, do not worry; we are here to help you better understand these concepts. Continue reading below and you will learn a lot.
Allergy
There is talk of allergy when the reaction to the intake of a certain food is caused by the body’s immune system. This system responds generating discomfort and in some cases more severe symptoms.
Symptoms that are experienced due to an allergy range from itchy skin, problems in the intestines, vomiting, pain, diarrhea, respiratory problems, up to coughing. In the most severe cases, anaphylaxis can occur, which could endanger the life of the affected person if they do not receive immediate medical attention.
There is a type of allergy that despite being caused by the immune system is not the result of the reaction of a particular antibody (as is the case of the IgE antibody). This usually occurs more often in infants.
Being allergic to a meal is a fairly rare condition, but it is well known because people talk a lot about the subject and because the terms “intolerant-allergic” are often exchanged. Foods that most often cause allergy reactions in people are: peanut, milk, fish, oysters, soy and wheat.
Intolerance
On the other hand, the intolerance of some foods may not be very clear from the beginning, therefore, a diagnosis could take some time.
Although intolerance is not usually a danger to life, it can cause the person to feel very bad and the symptoms could also affect the psychological state of the individual when he feels there is no improvement.
The only thing that is known about this is that the reaction of intolerance is not caused by any antibody of the immune system; however, the reason why it occurs is uncertain.
Finally, the symptoms of intolerance can affect different subjects very differently; likewise, it could well last an hour as well as several days. Some factors linked to the development of food intolerance are: lifestyle, excessive consumption of refined foods, low fiber diet, very high fat diet.
