What’s the Difference Between a Food Allergy and a Food Sensitivity?

A food sensitivity or food intolerance is when you have difficulty digesting certain foods and experience an unpleasant physical reaction. As individuals, our reactions to foods and drinks vary a great deal. An ingredient which may cause problems for one person could be completely acceptable for another. The most common food sensitivity symptoms are bloating and stomach pains, which usually come on a few hours after consuming the food.

Discovering and understanding your own personal food and drink sensitivities and intolerances, and the effects they have on your health and well-being is important to ensure you make the best possible choices to balance your diet.

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Food allergies are mediated by IgE immune antibodies that cause an immediate response. You will experience symptoms right away after eating that food.⁠

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Food sensitivities involve IgG and IgM antibodies and a delayed response. You could have a response as far out as 72 hours later. This is why diagnosing food sensitivities can be so difficult without lab testing or an elimination-provocation protocol. ⁠

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When it comes to figuring out how you react to food, it's important to know whether you have food allergy or food sensitivity, and what kind of testing is appropriate.⁠

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Why is it important to take the test?

When food particles enter the bloodstream, your immune system can sometimes identify these food proteins as ‘foreign’ and produces IgG antibodies to ‘attack’ the particular food in question. 

This response is your immune system’s natural defense mechanism to ward off harmful invaders in the body which can create inflammation. This inflammation can then trigger troublesome symptoms, which may persist if they are neglected.

Suffering from IBS, headaches, bloating, tiredness? These are often signs of a food sensitivity or a food intolerance affecting your daily life. Contact me today to get on the road to wellness.

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