Food Allergies v Food Intolerance - What's the difference?
Food allergies are specific immunological reactions to food proteins. They can usually be diagnosed by doctors using various tests (ie.skin prick tests or RAST blood tests) . Allergic reactions can also lead to anaphylactic responses which can be lethal.
Food intolerance does not usually cause the same reactions and there are limited medial tests to identify this intolerance. The reaction may also be delayed and may present as behavioral or mental symptoms rather than physical ones. Another way of characterising food intolerance is as a pharmacological reaction (like the side effects of a drug) to the chemicals in foods.
