Allergies are a tough thing to grapple with. On one hand, anyone who says they have an allergy should be taken seriously.
On the other hand, a large number of people and a large number of studies have turned serious allergies like celiac disease into at best a trend, and at worst a joke.
So what’s the difference between a minor food intolerance and a major allergy? Of course the only real way to tell is by getting an allergy test, but here are some ways to tell it’s not an allergic reaction.
If your symptoms take a while to develop…then you’re probably intolerant, not allergic. Allergic reactions happen almost instantaneously, from the minute you eat it until about 30 minutes after exposure.
Your “reaction” is different whenever you eat the food…This just means that your stomach doesn’t like it very much. An allergy would mean that your body reacts the same way, immediately, every time.
Different versions of the food cause different reactions…for example, if you can’t drink milk but you can handle cheese pretty well, you’re lactose intolerant, not allergic. Over the counter pills can help that just fine.
Your symptoms are in your stomach, or in your head…Allergic reactions are pretty much the same across the board. They come with hives, difficulty breathing, sneezing, trouble swallowing, and swelling. They’re immune system disorders, not stomach ones. If you feel nauseous or experience GI problems after eating a certain food, you’re probably intolerant, not allergic. If it’s a headache, it’s just a sensitivity. A headache isn’t triggered by your immune system in the way other allergy symptoms are.
