Food may be necessary for survival but that doesn’t mean your body always reacts well to everything. There are a variety of ways your body can have a negative reaction to something you’ve eaten. Depending on the food, you can have an allergy, an intolerance, or a sensitivity. Since these issues can have different symptoms, it’s important to know the difference and how to handle them.
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Is it a Food Allergy?
In a food allergy, your immune system reacts to something you’ve eaten. This reaction can be caused by even a small amount of the allergen. An allergic reaction can vary in severity and it’s not uncommon for them to worsen if you keep eating the food that caused the problem. Some of the symptoms you can expect with a food allergy include hives, itching, eczema, tingling or itching in the mouth, wheezing, swelling in your face, lips, or mouth, nasal congestion, trouble breathing, dizziness, and lightheadedness.
Sometimes, an allergy is bad enough to cause a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylactic shock. In that case, you may experience constriction of the airways, swelling of the throat that makes breathing difficult, a severe drop in your blood pressure, a rapid pulse, dizziness, and loss of consciousness.
You can develop an allergy to any food, but the most common ones are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.
When it comes to food allergies, your best course of action is to avoid them entirely. Though it’s possible to have a mild reaction to an allergy, you never know if your body might go into shock instead. Mild symptoms can often be managed with an antihistamine. For those who have more significant reactions, doctors recommend keeping an epi-pen with you at all times. Apart from learning how to use it effectively, you should teach those around you as well. An epi-pen can get your symptoms under control so you have enough time to get to the hospital.
Finally, if you start having symptoms of anaphylactic shock, you need to go to the emergency room immediately as this can be fatal.
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Is it a Food Intolerance?
If you have a food intolerance, it means that your body is unable or has trouble digesting certain foods. It’s not usually life-threatening but it can make you feel terrible. The symptoms can appear within an hour or two after eating the offending food or ingredient. Some possible symptoms include stomach pain, passing gas, bloating, diarrhea, headache, nausea, constipation, joint pain, and fatigue. You may feel unwell for a few hours or even a few days.
The most common form of this condition is lactose intolerance. However, you can have an intolerance to gluten – found in bread and pasta, histamine – found in wine and cheese, caffeine, alcohol, sulfites – found in wine, beer, and cider, salicylates – found in some foods and vegetables, and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
While an intolerance isn’t typically as serious as an allergy, it can be disruptive and sometimes painful. It’s best to avoid foods that your body can’t digest as you’re not getting the nutrients from it and getting sick will affect how well you eat afterward.
If you eat something that you didn’t have an intolerance for previously or you weren’t aware that the food contained the ingredient, the symptoms can usually be treated or managed with over-the-counter medications.
Is it a Food Sensitivity?
Food sensitivities are a little trickier. These are usually described as your body having a reaction to something that you’ve eaten that is unrelated to an allergy or intolerance. Still, some of the symptoms can be similar. With a sensitivity, you may experience stomach pain, joint pain, rashes, fatigue, and brain fog.
The foods that cause sensitivity can be the same as those that cause intolerances and allergies. However, the only way to be sure is to practice what doctors call an elimination diet where you remove certain foods one at a time to discover what’s causing your symptoms. Once you know the culprit, you can avoid it.
Generally, the symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter medication.
How This Affects Black People
Interestingly, statistics show that Black Americans are more likely to have food allergies than other ethnicities. They’re also prone to having multiple food allergies at the same time. The most common ones in Black people tend to be milk, fish, and seafood. While the root of this predisposition to food allergies can be affected by different factors, research suggests that they’re linked to other health issues.
For example, Black Americans have a high chance of being diagnosed with asthma and this condition is linked to food allergies as well. In one study of Black children, those who had a food allergy also had asthma or eczema.
With intolerances, the data available isn’t as comprehensive, and more research needs to be done. However, studies have shown that up to 65 percent of Black Americans may be lactose intolerant. Black people also have a higher rate of gluten intolerance than other ethnicities. Their reactions to other foods haven’t been studied as well, though.
When to See a Doctor
Sometimes having an allergy or intolerance can get complicated. If you’ve been having symptoms of either condition and can’t pinpoint what’s causing it, you should ask your doctor about being officially tested. You can also talk to them about it if your symptoms don’t respond well to over-the-counter medications or keep getting worse each time you’re exposed to the food in question. This can involve exposing you to different allergens in a controlled environment to determine what’s going on. Once you’ve been diagnosed, it will be easier for your doctor to guide you on the right course of treatment.
Allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities aren’t interchangeable. You need to know which ones are merely a nuisance and which can be fatal. If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, your best bet is to keep track of what you’ve eaten so you can avoid the food that caused the problem. If things get worse, you should see a doctor so you can be treated.
