TYPES OF ALLERGIES

Food allergy facts

• Food allergy is not common but can be serious.



• Food allergy differs from food intolerance, which is far more common.



• The more frequent types of food allergies in adults differ from those in children.



• Children can outgrow their food allergies, but adults usually do not.



• The diagnosis of food allergy is made with a detailed history, the patient's diet diary, or an elimination diet.



• Food allergy is treated primarily by dietary avoidance.

Introduction to food allergies

Either food allergy or food intolerance affects nearly everyone at some point. When people have an unpleasant reaction to something they ate, they often think that they have an allergy to the food. Actually, however, only about 3% of adults and 6%-8% of children have clinically proven true allergic reactions to food.

This difference between the prevalence of clinically proven food allergy and the public's perception of the problem is due primarily to misinterpreting food intolerance or other adverse reactions to food as food allergy. A true food allergy is an abnormal response to food that is triggered by a specific