A Guide to Food "Allergy" Etiquette
Likely you've noticed, but there are a growing number of people with food "issues." It might be a food intolerance, a food sensitivity, or even a very serious, life threatening food allergy. I'm one of them. Maybe you are too.
But maybe you are not. And maybe you are now daily exposed to people talking about their food avoidances in the work place to stores promoting the latest in allergy-free products, and are even told not to bring your favorite foods to schools or potlucks for the sake of a small minority that might have an adverse reaction to such foods. SO annoying, right? But seriously, does this make you angry?
Just let me tell you, no one chooses to have food issues. Parents do not choose for their sons or daughters to go into anaphylactic shock when exposed to peanuts, dairy or any other random foods that might normally seem completely benign. In fact, it's something all of us parents fear. While you are grumbling about peanut butter, can you imagine the fear of that parent praying their child does not accidentally ingest or even come in contact with the food that could land them in the hospital, or worse, while they are at school or out in the world? In a far less serious example, I did not choose to break out in painful acne all over my back every time I eat dairy. And others did not choose to experience terrible gas and bloating when eating foods with gluten, sugar, soy, etc. I know sometimes it may seem that people are using food avoidance as a diet or other regimen apart from a true food allergy, but give them the benefit of the doubt. All of us in a second flat would choose to be able to eat anything we desired if given the ability. Oh how I would LOVE to eat a piece of cheesecake without paying a price. Or really, just to have a simple latte. Or buy a thick chocolate chip cookie full of high quality butter. Great, now my mouth is watering, and I digress.
You may be wondering what the differences between food allergies, food intolerances and food sensitivities are, anyway. Let me break it down real quick so you can a better sense of where people are coming from.
Food Allergy: This is by far the most serious. This is an immune-modulated reaction related to the IgE antibody. These reactions usually occur within minutes of eating a food and can range from something as simple as a mouth rash to more serious symptoms such as hives, vomiting, or anaphylactic shock.
Food Sensitivity: These reactions are modulated by non-IgE antibodies or T-cell reactions and are typically delayed in nature. The reactions may occur hours after eating a food up to 3 days later. It can be extremely frustrating to figure out which foods are the actual culprits so have some patience with your poor friends or family members who are still trying to sort it out. Better yet, tell them about Mediator Release Testing. In these cases the symptoms are rarely life threatening but can include things such as digestive issues/IBS, headaches/migraines, body aches, fatigue, eczema, and a host of other ambiguous symptoms that might equate to "feeling lousy."
Food Intolerance: This is the result of the body's inability to correctly break down a food due to some deficiency in an enzyme or other body process that would normally allow you to digest and assimilate that food in a normal manner. The easiest example is lactose intolerance. When the enzyme Lactase, produced in the small intestine, is lacking, people cannot break down the lactose in dairy products efficiently. The undigested lactose goes into the intestines and then produces unpleasant gas and bloating. Avoiding dairy or taking oral Lactase usually solves the problem.
Celiac Disease: I feel the need to mention this one here because it is none of the above but commonly encountered. You may know that those with Celiac Disease must be on a gluten free diet, but that is not because gluten is an allergy. It's because gluten causes an autoimmune disorder. The presence of gluten signals certain antibodies to damage the villi of the small intestine, making it an attack against "self." The destruction of these villi, which are the absorptive surfaces of the small intestine, eventually produce malabsorption of nutrients and a host of co-morbidities. Even the smallest trace of gluten can trigger these events.
Irregardless of the type of food issue a person has, I think the common frustration among folks is what to do about it or how to help. Well first of all, there is nothing you can do about it. People's food issues are people's food issues. What you can do to help is be accommodating.
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