What's the difference between a food intolerance and a food allergy?

The Difference Between Food Intolerance and Food Allergies

It’s important to understand that being food intolerant is not the same as having an allergic reaction to certain foodstuffs. Food allergies are a reaction by your immune system to a particular food. You are advised to seek medical guidance from you GP in the case of allergies.

Sometimes an allergy can be serious and life-threatening, although the common symptoms of a food allergy can be an itching sensation which affects the mouth or throat, some kind of rash appearing or even a swelling that generally affects some part of the face.

Why Food Intolerance is Not the Same As Food Allergy

Food intolerance is nothing to do with the way your immune system reacts to certain foods. Instead, this needs to be regarded as someone eating or drinking something which will have an adverse reaction and this reaction may not begin until several hours after consumption.

Ultimately, a food intolerance occurs when a person’s digestive system struggles to break down a certain foodstuff and that can lead to a number of symptoms which tend to differ from those experienced by someone with a food allergy.

The Immune System versus The Digestive System

Therefore, if your immune system is telling you something is wrong with what you’ve just eaten, then you will find that the warning signs are loud and clear from the moment that consumption takes place.

Indeed, this is why it’s pretty straightforward to diagnose a food allergy straight away, with people not left to second guess exactly what it is that has caused an allergic reaction, especially if they’re able to detect a pattern and stay away from that particular food.

However, food intolerance can sometimes involve a deeper investigation. Because there is a delayed reaction due to the food needing to pass through your digestive system, then it can often be that a specialist is required to identify the causes of your unpleasant sensations that emerge from being intolerant to certain food.

Ultimately, the digestive system is what is providing the feedback on this one and that means bloating and gas can emerge as symptoms a few hours down the line, while tiredness, skin problems and even weight gain can also illustrate some kind of food intolerance.

How Kinesiology Can Identify a Food Intolerance

Therefore, while kinesiology is not a practice that can help with food allergies, it is now increasingly recognised that this can help to identify a whole myriad of food intolerances and help people lead more comfortable and healthier lives as a result.

The rigorous muscle testing that is undertaken by a kinesiologist is able to help identify which foods should be struck off your shopping list and it’s fantastic to know that you can avoid something which is giving your digestive system an overload that it simply can’t deal with.