If you have a food allergy, then your body is creating antibodies that will attack the proteins of that food which you are eating. For instance, if you have an allergy to milk, when you drink it, your body will create antibodies to attack the milk proteins. And, as a result of your body attacking the milk proteins, your body is likely to have a reaction.
When it comes to food, lots of people continually mis-diagnose themselves. They go through life believing that they have a food allergy when, really what they have, is a food intolerance. So, if we take the milk example again, drinking it may cause your stomach to become bloated. This is usually a sign of food intolerance, meaning that your body doesn't have enough of the lactase enzyme to fully digest the milk. As a result, some of the milk remains undigested in your stomach causing the bloating.
On the other hand, if you start to have a shortness of breath, congestion of the nasal passages, hives, or other symptoms - it is a strong sign that you actually have an allergy to milk. The best way to know for sure, of course, is to be tested.
As a result, it is very apparent just how crucial it is to be able to diagnose a food allergy versus a food intolerance. Food intolerance can often be resolved by simply taking the appropriate food enzymes. Food allergies, however, are much more complicated to treat. In many cases the only thing to do is to avoid the food altogether.
Chemical sensitivity is another symptom that is frequently mistaken for a food allergy. In the U.S. the amount of whole foods that we have consumed has gone down dramatically in the past one hundred years. Fast foods and processed foods are the order of the day. And thousands of chemicals - some safe, some not - are added to these processed foods. You may think that you are allergic to a food, when what you are really allergic to are the additives within it.
Something that illustrates this perfectly is the many food colorings that are routinely added to most of our processed food products. This is almost always done as a marketing stunt supposedly to make the food more appealing to the eye. At any rate, many people, especially young children, are sensitive to some of these food dyes.
Sometimes you could have a reaction to the food and maybe naturally come to the conclusion that you have an allergy to that food. When what you are really allergic to is the food coloring. Because the symptoms of a food allergy and a chemical sensitivity are often similar, it can be difficult to diagnose which one it is.
Ultimately what we can take from all of this is that regardless of our responses are because of real food allergies, chemical sensitivities, or food additives, the causes of many of the illnesses we experience can be traced directly back to the foods we eat. And, if you want to really improve your health, you can start by being tested for food allergies.
When it comes to food, lots of people continually mis-diagnose themselves. They go through life believing that they have a food allergy when, really what they have, is a food intolerance. So, if we take the milk example again, drinking it may cause your stomach to become bloated. This is usually a sign of food intolerance, meaning that your body doesn't have enough of the lactase enzyme to fully digest the milk. As a result, some of the milk remains undigested in your stomach causing the bloating.
On the other hand, if you start to have a shortness of breath, congestion of the nasal passages, hives, or other symptoms - it is a strong sign that you actually have an allergy to milk. The best way to know for sure, of course, is to be tested.
As a result, it is very apparent just how crucial it is to be able to diagnose a food allergy versus a food intolerance. Food intolerance can often be resolved by simply taking the appropriate food enzymes. Food allergies, however, are much more complicated to treat. In many cases the only thing to do is to avoid the food altogether.
Chemical sensitivity is another symptom that is frequently mistaken for a food allergy. In the U.S. the amount of whole foods that we have consumed has gone down dramatically in the past one hundred years. Fast foods and processed foods are the order of the day. And thousands of chemicals - some safe, some not - are added to these processed foods. You may think that you are allergic to a food, when what you are really allergic to are the additives within it.
Something that illustrates this perfectly is the many food colorings that are routinely added to most of our processed food products. This is almost always done as a marketing stunt supposedly to make the food more appealing to the eye. At any rate, many people, especially young children, are sensitive to some of these food dyes.
Sometimes you could have a reaction to the food and maybe naturally come to the conclusion that you have an allergy to that food. When what you are really allergic to is the food coloring. Because the symptoms of a food allergy and a chemical sensitivity are often similar, it can be difficult to diagnose which one it is.
Ultimately what we can take from all of this is that regardless of our responses are because of real food allergies, chemical sensitivities, or food additives, the causes of many of the illnesses we experience can be traced directly back to the foods we eat. And, if you want to really improve your health, you can start by being tested for food allergies.
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