Food intolerance and allergies are two seemingly similar problems. In the media, you have probably often come across programmes or articles mentioning the harmfulness of wheat, milk, soy or dairy products.
Yes, gluten, lactose and many others. But what exactly is the difference between the two? How can you recognise the problem and how can you deal with it effectively?
Food intolerance
In general, food intolerance is a condition related to the digestive system. The reaction occurs as a result of consuming a food product or a specific ingredient.
Food intolerance is an unpleasant condition in that it quite often goes hand in hand with digestive problems, impaired absorption and assimilation. It is worth bearing in mind that long-term consumption of a monotonous diet can lead to the development of an intolerance to a product and/or ingredient. In addition, intestinal problems, such as those described in other articles
SIBO or
leaky gut syndrome definitely do not help bring the situation under control.
Food intolerance may be related, for example, to reduced activity of digestive enzymes. In such a case, food that has not been broken down properly may remain in the gastrointestinal tract, causing further ailments (in this case, digestive ones).
Unfortunately, food intolerance is often seen as the problem, while at the same time no attention is paid to the aggravating accompanying problems mentioned above. Besides, not only a monotonous diet can be harmful - a diet rich in anti-nutritional components can be as well. It should be remembered that food intolerance is a long-term condition and may not cause symptoms if a given product or ingredient is consumed only once in a while, in small amounts.
It is worth bearing in mind that regular consumption of a food to which we are intolerant has a negative effect on the intestines, constantly irritating them. It is most often associated with carbohydrates and, in itself, does not directly activate the immune system.
The most common symptoms include:
The most common ingredients / products associated with intolerance are:
- FODMAPs,
- dairy products,
- eggs,
- high-histamine products.
This also includes: lactose, biogenic amines (so-called pseudo-allergy), fructose.
Food allergy and food intolerance
By contrast, food allergy is closely linked to activation of the immune system. The immune response is mainly triggered by food proteins and occurs with the involvement of IgE antibodies (immunoglobulin E). Of course, not every allergy has to be IgE-dependent. Nevertheless, this one is the easiest to identify.
IgE-dependent food allergy causes almost immediate symptoms - within a few minutes. Eating the allergenic food will, in this case, cause, for example, abdominal pain, a rash or itching. As you can see, these are the symptoms that most often come to mind when we think about this problem. On the other hand, it is often said that food allergy can take a delayed form.
We are talking here about IgA- and IgG-dependent food hypersensitivity reactions, which differ in reaction time. In the case of IgG-dependent reactions, it can even take several days. Interestingly, this hypersensitivity is commonly referred to as intolerance.
It is worth knowing that delayed allergic reactions, which are food hypersensitivity in the IgA class, are associated with irritated intestinal mucosa and, consequently, with inflammation present there. Symptoms become visible after a few hours of contact with the product. In addition, the symptoms are mainly gastrointestinal, i.e. bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain.
On the other hand, the symptoms of a delayed IgG-dependent reaction can be much more varied. Namely, apart from strictly gastrointestinal ones, there may also be muscle pain, joint pain, skin problems, headaches and even hypertension.
Products often causing allergic reactions:
- milk,
- nuts,
- soy,
- seafood.
Food intolerance - characteristic features:
- mainly caused by carbohydrates,
- is not related to activation of the immune system,
- as a rule, is not related to the production of antibodies,
- the symptoms are not systemic and mainly affect the digestive system (with the exception of histamine intolerance).
Food allergy - characteristic features:
- caused by food proteins,
- is related to activation of the immune system,
- is related to the production of antibodies,
- the symptoms are general (from gastrointestinal to more varied ones affecting other areas).
