Food Intolerances: Everything You Need To Know

In the diet, there are certain products or food components that can cause adverse reactions, such as food intolerances. However, this immune defense filter sometimes overreacts, although most people can eat a wide variety of foods without problems.

The human organism is a perfect example of autonomous work. All systems work for everyone, trying to make up for possible deficiencies if there is a deficiency, while some systems are dedicated to general service. This is the case of the immune system, related to the system capable of eliminating infections, poisonings or tumor cells without showing any symptoms. The detection, identification and elimination of foreign substances – antigens – works without rest.

What are food intolerances?

In a small percentage of the population there are certain foods or components that can cause adverse reactions, either allergies or food intolerances.

• Food intolerances affect the metabolism, but not the body’s immune system.
• Adverse food intolerances are frequently confused with food allergies.

In many cases, these reactions are due to some other factor, such as perhaps food poisoning, a psychological aversion to a food, or an intolerance to an ingredient in a particular food.

What are food allergies?

Food allergy is an autoimmune reaction that causes a state of inflammation. An allergen is a protein in the food that causes an allergy. This substance causes a series of chain reactions in the immune system. These antibodies cause the secretion of chemicals, such as histamine, which produces various symptoms, such as itching, runny nose, cough or respiratory disorders.

The real prevalence of food allergy is only 2% in the adult population, being somewhat higher in the child population, between 3% and 7%

Food is equally fattening

There is a false belief that a food can make some people fat while others do not. This is an error of interpretation or explanation, since there is no scientific proof with sufficient evidence that links increased fat with disorders of food-specific immunoglobulin E.

Main food intolerances

Next, we will mention what are the main food intolerances and their main features.

Lactose intolerance

It is due to the inability of the digestive system to digest lactose, which is the sugar in milk. This intolerance is caused by the deficit in the body’s production of an enzyme called lactase, which is in charge of digesting and consequently absorbing said milk sugar.

According to a study published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition , probiotic supplementation appears to be effective in reducing symptoms and even correcting some cases of lactose intolerance.

Gluten intolerance

In gluten intolerance, the small intestine is not able to digest it, and consequently an inflammatory reaction occurs at the intestinal level. This type of intolerance persists throughout life.

It is autoimmune based and the symptoms would be: loss of weight, appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of muscle mass. These symptoms may be absent or atypical. According to a study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology , it is much more common to develop gluten intolerance than to develop celiac disease.

Sucrose intolerance

It consists of intolerance to common sugar and is due to the lack of an enzyme called sucrase. This lack makes the correct digestion of sucrose difficult with the already known symptoms such as diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain, etc.

It is also possible to develop intolerance to fructose, the sugar in fruit. In fact, it has been shown that there is a hereditary component in this pathology. It is recommended to go to the doctor in the case of suspecting its existence, since it greatly conditions the diet.

It is essential to correctly identify intolerances

These intolerances and allergies must be diagnosed by a doctor in order to take the appropriate precautions and measures. In no case should we self-diagnose, since we can make mistakes and make the body do without various nutrients.

Remember that when it comes to health, the best person to offer us the help you need will always be our doctor.

In the same way, you should not trust food tolerance tests, which are so fashionable today. These do not have scientific evidence and condition the diet to a great extent, restricting large food groups, which is why they are discouraged.