Understanding Intolerances
What Are Food Intolerances?
There are a lot of misconceptions about food intolerances, particularly in relation to the difference between a food intolerance and an allergy. Many people also wrongly believe that food intolerances are not serious.
Having a food intolerance means you have a sensitivity to a food or group of foods. Your symptoms can include bloating, wind, indigestion, diarrhoea, nausea, pain, increased eczema, increased asthma, and more. These systems can occur immediately, but they can also take up to 20 hours to develop. Either way, they are uncomfortable at best and debilitating at worst.
What Are Environmental Sensitivities?
Our intolerance tests also check for environmental sensitivities, sometimes referred to as non-food intolerances. This is where you have – or develop – a sensitivity to a non-food substance such as dog dander or dust.
The symptoms of environmental sensitivities include increased eczema, increased asthma, and more.
What Are Allergies?
Allergies affect your immune system whereas intolerances don’t. In other words, with an allergy, the body reacts as if it has ingested a toxin and responds within seconds or minutes. The symptoms include everything from a tingling in the mouth to vomiting to a swelling of the throat. Allergies can be very serious and when they occur, an emergency response is often required.
Different, But Still Important
So, while intolerances are different from allergies, it’s important you know how
your body reacts to different foods and substances. This will help you make more informed decisions so you can live more healthily, happily, and comfortably.
