Food allergies and food intolerances are very similar terms that are commonly used interchangeably – however, they are two very different afflictions that need to be more fully understood.

Food allergies cause intense allergic reactions. Your body sees the food as a hostile intruder, and creates increased levels of immunglobin E to attack it. This in turn produces increased production of histamine, resulting in red, swelling and itchy skin, wheezing, coughing, and a feeling of tightness in the nose and throat. Sometimes the reaction is even more intense, where the body goes into anaphylactic shock, and beginsstarts to shut down. The most obvious occurence of this is an allergic reaction to peanuts, where a quick injection of adrenaline is needeed to stop the often fatal anaphylaxis.

Food intolerance is a less severe allergic reaction. Most often observed in cases of lactose intolerance, food intolerance is where the body is unable to totally process a specific food. This usually results in migraines, diarrhoea, vomiting, or feelings of dizziness and lethargy.

In both situations, an exclusion diet and skin prick tests can be highly effective in finding the specific foods that result in the reaction. Your diet can then be to cut out the hardmful foods whilst still being nutritious and satisfying. Many special food allergy recipe books are available which can be a huge help to those suffering from food allergies.