Food allergy or just fussy eater?

Say you're allergic to something in the food you've just eaten. Your body's immune system will wrongly identify the substance, known as a food allergen, as a threat, and will try to eliminate it.

Within minutes of eating, your body may produce a type of antibody and release chemicals from the immune system, including histamines. This is what causes the typical symptoms of an allergic reaction - the rashes, swollen lips, itchy eyes, nausea and other symptoms.

If you have a food allergy, you'll test positive in skin and blood tests designed to identify and measure the antibody to specific food allergens.

With a food intolerance, your immune system isn’t involved, which means that your allergy tests will be negative.

In fact, if you have a food intolerance you will probably have a wider range of symptoms than those seen with an allergy. These symptoms also usually take longer to develop.

There are no specific tests for food intolerance, but your doctor or dietitian can use an elimination diet to help you identify the culprit foods.

Read all about the causes, symptoms, and foods that cause your allergy or intolerance in the articles below.

This article was published on Tue 25 August 2009