I Welcome you all to this contest “Food Allergies.” Food allergy could be a discomforting experience to have. It could result from the various kinds of food one takes in and the body immune system responds to it accordingly. It could be compared to food Intolerance, but they are not the same. Read through this contest post to find out more.....
Food allergies could be described as the state of the body's immune system being reactive to some kind foods taken. Our body's immune system doesn't react in the same way, they react differently so the food we take and our body immune system accepts it, may not be accepted to others.
Although food allergies and food Intolerance are not easy to differentiate because they are similar, there are some marks of differences. Their differences are:
Cause of allergies:
Some foods like wheat, groundnuts, soybeans, fish, milk, walnut etc, may be the cause of the allergies while Food Intolerance may be caused by gluten contained grains, lactose, citrus fruits, processed meat, cabbage may cause allergies.By risk of exposure:
Food allergies could occur when one consumes food prepared in allergen infested environment while food Intolerance happens when one consumes the particular food.By Time:
Symptoms of food allergies show few hours after eating while food Intolerance would show some time later.By quantity of food:
Little amount of food could cause allergies or reactions while food Intolerance, even the tiniest food may not have any reaction.By reaction:
The reactions from food allergies could very serious and life threatening as well while food Intolerance even if it could be serious, it doesn't threaten life.
I have provided some answers to the questions raised by the host of this contest as follows:
- Has the increase in food allergies made you more cautious about trying new foods?
No! Increase in Food allergies has not made me more cautious about about trying new. But then, I make environmental considerations as regards to the food preparation before consumption.
- How do food allergies affect social life and dining out?
When one becomes becomes food allergic, they tend to be more sensitive to the environment where the food is been prepared and selective of the food they eat. This would obviously affect their social life and dining out.
- What are some common misconceptions about food allergies that you've come across?
The common misconceptions about food allergies that I have come across are:
All foods are made to be consumed.
Our body immune system reacts differently to different foods. While the body immune system may accept some kinds of foods, others may react to it.Someone with a particular food allergy should avoid other related foods.
There are allergies more serious than others.
Food Intolerance and food allergies are the same
These are few of the food allergy misconceptions I know, there are other misconceptions about food allergies.
What are some emergency steps to take if someone experiences a severe allergic reaction to food?
Some emergency steps to take when having food allergies include:
Abstain from the food immediately:
When you notice your body system is allergic to a particular kind of food, stop eating or consuming the food immediately.Have or do a blood test:
Go for medical checkup to run a blood test so as to ascertain the cause of the allergy.A patient of food allergy should immediately, be laid straight on the ground. They should not be allowed to move around.
Take the patient to the hospital after few hours of close examination.
Stop distributing the food that caused the allergy forthwith.