Food allergy vs. food intolerance: Quick facts

Food allergy are sensitivities caused by a reaction of the body’s immune system to specific proteins in a food. Current estimates are that food allergy affects as many as five to six per cent of young children and three to four per cent of adults in westernized countries. In the most extreme cases, food allergy can be fatal. Although any food can provoke an immune response in allergic individuals, a few foods are responsible for the majority of food allergies.

Anaphylaxis is a serious allergy reaction that can be life threatening. Food is the most common cause of anaphylaxis, but insect stings, medicine, latex, or exercise can also cause a reaction.

Celiac disease is a genetic disease and the symptoms are triggered by the consumption of gluten. The main sources of gluten in the diet are cereal grains and the only current treatment for celiac disease is to continually maintain a strict gluten-free diet.

A food intolerance is a food sensitivity that does not involve the individual’s immune system. While the symptoms of food intolerance vary and can be mistaken for those of a food allergy, food intolerances are more likely to originate in the gastrointestinal system and are usually caused by an inability to digest or absorb certain foods, or components of those foods. For example, intolerance to dairy products is one of the most common food intolerances. Known as lactose intolerance, it occurs in people who lack an enzyme called lactase, which is needed to digest lactose (a sugar in milk.)

Chemical sensitivities occur when a person has an adverse reaction to chemicals that occur naturally in, or are added to, foods. Examples of chemical sensitivities are reactions to: caffeine in coffee, tyramine in aged cheese and flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate.

- info from Health Canada and Anaphylaxis Canada

Food Allergy with Bill & Sheila

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