What is a "food allergy?"

[admin rebekahc]

This topic has been transferred from our former location.  Any new posts need to be added here.

What is a "food allergy?"

[guess]

Different-Types-of-Food-Allergies

Hopefully ok to post link to flyer?  Thought it was good.

[TeddyCan]

Food allergy can be defined as your body's apathy towards any particular substance or substances. However, we often mess up food allergy and food intolerance. Food allergy can be life threatening sometimes it hardly happens with food intolerance.

[Macabre]

Oh, my body cares about sesame and shellfish very much. TOO much!

[riansimon]

food allergy can be defined as a physical reaction caused on consuming a food material. The physical reaction could be rashes, any type of pain or inability to breathe. On having an allergy to a specific food material one has stopped consuming it.

[rebekahc]

While some of those things may sometimes be true of a food allergy, they are symptoms and not what defines a food allergy. Those things can happen for a variety of reasons which are not allergy such as lactose intolerance, Celiac disease, bacterial contamination, etc.  An adverse reaction to consuming something does not equal food allergy and the above mentioned causes of adverse food reactions would not respond to allergy treatments. 

A food allergy is an IgE mediated immune response to a food protein that then can cause a cascade of symptoms which can be unpredictable and range from mild to life-threatening. Unlike some other adverse food reactions, the only preventative is strict avoidance.