It is important to understand the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance.
Many of you might have allergies to certain food items. It is a very common thing when an uncommon reaction to a food item often leads to the claim of having food allergies. However, this might be valid sometimes, the other possibility is that they are just false alarms. Now, if you are wondering how is that possible, let us take you down on it the concept of allergies and misconceptions about food.
In a survey of more than 40,000 adults, 10% of people were found to have one or more food allergies.
It is always advisable to brush off your facts about food allergies if you claim to have one, especially when you are taking care of someone who might be suffering from the same. According to recent research, 1 in 10 Americans suffer from food allergies, and nearly twice that number wrongly think they do as well. In a nationwide survey of more than 40,000 adults, researchers discovered that 10% of people had one or more food allergies. However, they also found that 19% of their participants claimed to be allergic to particular foods even though they didn’t exhibit the typical clinical symptoms of a true food allergy.
Hives, itchiness and swelling in the nose and throat, as well as nausea or stomach pain, are signs of food allergies.
Food allergies are unquestionably real, and for some people, they can be life-threatening as well, but the study’s authors cautioned that people who self-diagnose with food allergy without seeking medical advice may be misinterpreting their symptoms as an allergic reaction. Lead study author Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Illinois, said in a statement that in those cases, what the patients were going through might not have been an allergic reaction at all but rather a sign of food intolerance or other food-related conditions.
People can often get confused between Food allergies and food intolerances.
People can often get confused between Food allergies and food intolerances, thinking of any minor reaction due to a food item. On the other hand, the truth is that people who take food intolerance as a food allergy are mostly the ones who refrain from consulting a doctor and replacing the intolerant food items with a substitute.
The major reason for this misunderstanding can be the symptoms. Hives, itchiness and swelling in the nose and throat, as well as nausea or stomach pain, are signs of food allergies. In severe situations, food allergies can result in anaphylaxis, a condition marked by shock, low blood pressure, and narrowed airways that, left untreated, can be fatal. The start of a meat allergy has been related to tick bites, and a lady who underwent a lung transplant also developed her organ donor’s peanut allergy. Allergies can be inherited or acquired, sometimes inadvertently. Adult-onset food allergies occur more commonly than anticipated, according to research. Additionally, around 48% of the participants who had food allergies first developed at least one of them as adults.
Consulting a doctor is always important before trying to fix a possible food allergy by eliminating certain foods.
Before trying to fix the issue by eliminating items from their diet, a person who feels they may have a food allergy must see a doctor for testing and diagnosis. If a food allergy is verified, knowing how to manage it is equally essential. This includes knowing how to identify anaphylactic signs and when to take insulin.
