Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance

These foods are:

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  Peanut

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  Tree nuts

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  Milk

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  Egg

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  Wheat

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  Soy

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  Fish

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  Shellfish

Other Allergens

While only eight foods account for approximately 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions, a person can be allergic to virtually any food. Although the list below is by no means exhaustive, allergic reactions have been reported to corn, gelatin, meat (beef, chicken, mutton, and pork), seeds (sesame, sunflower, and poppy being the most common), and spices such as caraway, coriander, garlic, and mustard.

Corn Allergy

Allergic reactions to corn are rare and a relatively small number of case reports can be found in medical literature. However, the reports do indicate that reactions to corn can be severe. Reactions to corn can occur from both raw and cooked corn. Individuals who are allergic to corn should receive individualized expert guidance from their allergists.

Meat Allergy

Allergies to meats, such as beef, chicken, mutton or pork, are also rare.  A person who is allergic to one type of meat may not need to avoid other types of meat. Heating and cooking meat can reduce the allergenicity of product.

Of special note is the newly discovered allergy to Mammalian Meat (i.e. Beef, Pork, Lamb, Venison, etc.) that appears to be caused by a Tick bite. This allergy is significantly different than most because traditional food allergies have always been associated with reaction to proteins—but alpha-gal, the trigger in this condition, is a sugar found in mammalian meat. Plus, food allergy reactions are usually immediate (within minutes to an hour), whereas a person with the alpha-gal allergy doesn’t react for four to six hours.

Discovered by researchers investigating unusual reactions to a new cancer medication, they observed that in certain areas of the United States — North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia and Tennessee—patients were showing an unusual hypersensitivity to the drug cetuximab. Researchers determined that the antibodies were to a sugar, galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose—or alpha-gal, for short. (Alpha-gal is present in non-primate mammals but not in humans.) The researchers finally discovered the trigger for this condition when they looked at a map that charted the occurrence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne infection. The two maps were a perfect match. Upon follow up interviews, many of the patients reported they had been bitten by a tick or chigger prior to the onset of their “allergy.”

Further research uncovered that all three life stages of the aggressive lone star tick—larva, nymph and adult—feed on humans. The nymphs are often called seed ticks, because they are the size of poppy seeds; sometimes they’re mistaken for chiggers.With this condition, patients are told to avoid all meat from mammals. Some patients cannot tolerate any dairy, while others can tolerate milk in their cereal but have allergic reactions to ice cream or to creamy cheeses, like brie. Some can eat very lean cuts of venison without symptoms. And it appears that Fat plays a key role. That’s because alpha-gal is a sugar that attaches to fat molecules, existing as a glycolipid. The way fats are absorbed in the body may explain the four-hour delay in developing a reaction.

To further confuse the issue, this tick-bite triggered allergy may not last a lifetime. Alpha-gal antibody levels can eventually drop in patients who avoid additional tick bites. In time, some people get a negative blood test for the antibody and pass a food challenge, enabling them to eat meat again.

Seed Allergy

Allergic reactions to seeds can be severe. Sesame, sunflower, and poppy seeds have been known to cause anaphylaxis.  The estimated prevalence of seed allergy is not known. In a study published in 2010, however, researchers at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine concluded that 0.1 percent of the general population may have a sesame allergy, based on a national survey that focused primarily on the prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy. Seeds are often used in bakery and bread products, and extracts of some seeds have been found in hair care products. Some seed oils are highly refined, a process that removes the proteins from the oil. However, as not all seed oils are highly refined, individuals with a seed allergy should be careful when eating foods prepared with seed oils.

Severe symptoms may include one or more of the following:

• Obstructive swelling of the lips, tongue, and/or throat
• Trouble swallowing
• Shortness of breath or wheezing
• Turning blue
• Drop in blood pressure (feeling faint, confused, weak, passing out)
• Loss of consciousness
• Chest pain
• A weak or “thread” pulse
• Sense of “impending doom”

• “This food is too spicy.”
• “My tongue is hot [or burning].”
• “It feels like something’s poking my tongue.”
• “My tongue [or mouth] is tingling [or burning].”
• “My tongue [or mouth] itches.”
• “It [my tongue] feels like there is hair on it.”
• “My mouth feels funny.”
• “There’s a frog in my throat.”
• “There’s something stuck in my throat.”
• “My tongue feels full [or heavy].”
• “My lips feel tight.”
• “It feels like there are bugs in there.” (to describe itchy ears)
• “It [my throat] feels thick.”
• “It feels like a bump is on the back of my tongue [throat].”

Food intolerance may be caused by a variety of reasons.

• Poor Digestion from lack of needed digestive enzymes – e.g. lactose intolerance
• Dysbiosis – lack of healthy flora particularly impacts carbohydrate digestion
• Altered stomach pH
• Lack of bile production – created an intolerance to fatty foods
• True intolerance for items like gluten or casein including a more severe form of gluten intolerance known as Celiac disease
• Sensitivity to food additives – e.g. sulfites in dried fruits and red wine
• Stress – not fully understood

Understanding the cause of the food intolerance gives guidance to how you can best manage and treat them.  Identifying them is the first step and we routinely do this at Crossing Back to Health with the help of the Zyto evaluation.  We have successfully treated many people with food intolerances, helping them to figure out the root cause for their symptoms and to eliminate the annoying symptoms associated with them.  Learn more about the symptoms associated with food intolerance…(link to below).