allergies and intolerances

Today one out of fifteen American kids under three years old has a food allergy. Yikes! It wasn’t like that when I grew up: I only recall an occasional peanut problem.

Now there are eight common foods that comprise about 90% of the food allergies in the US: cow milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. (If you are Canadian, that list includes sesame seeds and sulfites.)

peanut

Technically, a food allergy is an immune response to what our bodies perceive as a “bad guy.” To keep us healthy, our bodies create antibodies to deal specifically with that bad guy, so the next time we eat something our bodies regard as an enemy—wheat or soy, for instance—our bodies are “armed and ready.”

Histamine is released to help defend our bodies, as well, and a whole allergic chain reaction takes place just because we had a glass of milk, milk or a peanut. For some, allergies are life-threatening, inducing an anaphylactic response to a food.

A food “intolerance” is not a measurable immune response, but it can present with many of the same symptoms of a food allergy (but as is usually the case, there are lots of definitions, and sometimes “intolerance” refers to an allergy, too…in my work, I refer to allergies only when there’s a blood-measurable response). Researchers believe that intolerances to foods are increasing, too, though that is much harder to track.

There are lots of unknowns in this realm, but I say, if you have an intolerance to a food, do the same thing you’d do if you were allergic: stay away. I’m gluten intolerant (or wheat intolerant…it’s hard to say), for example, and though I can eat a piece of pizza without hugely noticeable discomfort, if I ate wheat regularly (which I used to do), I’d suffer a stomach aches and socially unpleasant consequences! My oldest son would vomit when he was young, and now he can also have some “special treat wheat” from time to time. But by staying away from what I know doesn’t work the best in my body, I’m avoiding the immediate “windy” ramifications, as well as potential long-term consequences of making the intolerance worse. Besides, there are lots of great options to wheat these days…just check out any recipe on our Smart Foods Healthy Kids website. They are ALL wheat-free!