Simple Nutrition Insights

Decoding Food Allergies and Intolerances for Safer Eating

• Leonila • Episode 50

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Ever wondered why some foods make you sick while others send you into a frenzy of symptoms? Join me, Leonila Campos, as I break down the critical differences between food allergies and intolerances on this episode of the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. You'll gain a deep understanding of how your immune system reacts to allergens like peanuts and shellfish, compared to the digestive discomfort caused by intolerances to lactose and gluten. With 32 million Americans affected, knowing the "big eight" allergens and learning about the tests to identify these conditions can be life-changing.

Management is key, and I'm here to guide you through it. Discover practical tips for reading food labels, preventing cross-contamination, and ensuring you're prepared for emergencies with an EpiPen. We'll also explore how to educate your loved ones about your condition and adjust your diet without feeling deprived. Beyond the physical aspects, we'll touch on the emotional toll, addressing the anxiety and stress that often accompany these conditions. Stay tuned for my closing thoughts, where I invite you to share your experiences and questions. Let's navigate this journey together, keeping you safe and informed!

Navigating Food Allergies and Intolerances: Quick Guide

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Speaker 1:

Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode in the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. I am your host, irnila Campos, your dietitian, and on today's topic, we are going to talk about food allergies and intolerances. So I haven't done an episode around this topic, and I've had a few clients come to me and ask me about food allergies and intolerances. So I said, you know what, why not, let's do an episode, because I'm sure other people have those questions too. So the first thing that we have to do, right, is we have to define what a food intolerance is, what a food allergy is, and then we'll talk about, like the common food allergens, how you know if you have a food allergy or an intolerance, how to manage it and what to look for. So let's start with a food allergy, right? A food allergy is an immune system response to a food protein that the body mistakenly identifies as harmful. Common allergens include peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, milk, eggs and wheat, and so, again, when you have a food allergy, your immune system responds to that allergen as a foreign object, and so it's going to headaches or more severe right like an anaphylactic shock where you need an EpiPen right to help you. So that's more so. A food allergy, a food intolerance, is a non-immune system response where the body has difficulty digesting a certain substance, leading to symptoms like bloating gas, stomach pain. Some common intolerances include lactose and gluten, and so there is that difference. Right, you're still having symptoms with intolerance, but you're not having more of these severe symptoms, right, your body is not, your immune system is not essentially attacking, right, that's not that immune response, but you're still having that, those symptoms, right, when you have an intolerance of bloating gas, stomach pain, diarrhea and so. But that's also important to remember, and I'll talk about it in a moment, because we cannot just be having dairy all the time if you have symptoms, right, if you have diarrhea, if you have gas, because that can also affect your digestive system to a point where now you have more symptoms, right? So, keeping that in mind, so, how prevalent are allergies and intolerances? Right, it really depends on you know the data, but about approximately 32 million of Americans have food allergies and food intolerances, and, of course, even more so when you think about worldwide. So it's pretty common, right?

Speaker 1:

It's important to know, but also to know what are the main food allergens, right, these are called the big eight allergens, and so, as I mentioned when I was talking about food allergy, because these eight foods are responsible of about 90 percent of food allergies in the us. There's been laws, right, labeling laws that require the food industry to specifically label foods that have these eight allergens. And those eight allergens are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. So when you, when you go to the grocery store, right, right, and you grab a packet, it's like something packaged, a packaged food it should say it contains soy, right, or it contains milk. And that's just to give the consumers a better idea of what the food is, in case you're allergic to something, in case you have an intolerance to something, and it's easier for you as a consumer to identify it in a product. Right, that wasn't the case many, many years ago. And so, again, because of the food allergens labeling and consumer protection act that changed right, it, it gave guide or a policy to the food industry to be more transparent with the ingredients that they use, also for safety purposes. Right, because if you buy a food thinking that maybe it doesn't have milk, you're allergic to milk, right, and you eat it and then you have a reaction. Um, so, also to protect the food industry. Right, because I'm sure they don't want to be sued if someone gets sick. So how do we know if we have a food allergy?

Speaker 1:

Right, there are different testing, different tests that are done. One of them is called a skin prick test, where small amounts of allergens are introduced to the skin to observe their reaction. Right, because, again, if it's an allergy, your body is going to respond to it, you're going to have an immune response. They can also do blood tests to measure the presence of IgE, which is an immune agent, an immune protein or antibodies to specific foods. There's also called an oral food challenge, which is a medically supervised test where the suspect food is consumed in an increasing amount to confirm the allergy. Now, as you can imagine, it has to be medically supervised, right? Because they're increasing the amount that you're consuming or that specific food that you might be allergic to, and so maybe a small amount doesn't cost anything, but bigger amounts might, and so you have to make sure that you do it in a safe way. Now, that's for food allergies.

Speaker 1:

How about for food intolerances? Because, again, you're not having necessarily an immune response to it, right? One of the things that can be done is something called an elimination diet, right, where you remove the suspected food or foods from your diet or your way of eating and then gradually you reintroduce them to identify which ones are the ones that are making you have the specific symptoms. So with that right, you have to be more particular, you really have to journal, you have to really write things down. Excuse me, you eliminate them and then you don't want to reintroduce them all at once, right? Because if we do that then we are not going to know which ones are the ones that are causing you the symptoms. So you have to reintroduce them one at a time and give it some time, right, maybe three to five days, to see if there's a specific reaction, right, that you're having and then noting that right, and so that way you know specifically why you're intolerant to.

Speaker 1:

Like I mentioned oftentimes and I hear this often with my clients is that you know, I ask these questions okay, are there any food allergies that you have? Oftentimes they say no. How about intolerances, right? Food or sensitivities, foods that you consume, and maybe you have a stomachache or bloating or diarrhea. 99% of the time, people that have intolerances are going to say, oh, I have lactose intolerance. Oh, but I still drink milk, right, or I still eat yogurt, which we're going to discuss in a moment how that also affects your GI system. But elimination diets, right, is one of the ways that you can find if you have a food intolerance. Also, there's another thing called a breath test, right, and they use for diagnosing lactose intolerance by measuring hydrogen levels in the breath after consuming lactose, and so you can also have that done and see if you're intolerant to that. But oftentimes, again, if you're intolerant to lactose, you're going to sense it right away, right, you're going to have the symptoms of bloating, diarrhea and so, but maybe you want to double check, right, if that's what it is that you're having. So, so far, right, just to make sure that you're still here with me.

Speaker 1:

We talked about the difference between food allergies and food intolerances. We talked about the big eight right, the labeling laws and how to test right for food allergies and for food intolerances. Now let's talk about how to manage the allergies right, how to manage living with food intolerances. The first line of intervention when it comes to food allergies right is complete avoidance, right, because we know that you are allergic to a specific food and so if you continue to have it, you're going to continue to stimulate your immune system, right. So you're going to have that cascade of fighters, right, trying to attack that specific protein and that puts a lot of strain in your immune system, which can also lead to other illnesses. Right, you can get sicker sooner and so you want to make sure that, and I'm sure you're not going to feel so well every time you eat something that you're allergic to, right. Of course, if you have a severe allergy, like, let's say, peanut allergy, and you consume it, you're going to have most likely anaphylactic shock and you need an epi. So complete avoidance, right.

Speaker 1:

On that food that you're allergic to, always reading the food labels, right, uh, even even if it says, even if you just look at it, contains, right, um, which is going to be on the food label, you still want to read the ingredients list, right, for just in case you're allergic to something else and it's not labeled there on the it contains, because maybe it's not one of the eight allergens, you still want to read ingredients list. The other really important one is understanding cross-contamination risk, right, because if maybe you are allergic to something, right, a specific food, and depending on how you make your meals, meals and the other person is not allergic, but that person is using the tools that you usually use when you cook or prepare your meals and they forget that those are only yours. That's cross-contamination and you can also get an allergic reaction because of that, even if it's very small amounts, it only needs very small amounts when you're allergic to something, that protein that is found and you consume it, sometimes even touching it, right, you can have a reaction to that. So it is more. You have to be more careful in those cases versus if there is an intolerance, right, because your immune system is not responding to it.

Speaker 1:

Some other things to consider right, emergency action plan. So letting everybody know, right, you're allergic to a specific food, right, so they know exactly what to do. Of course, letting them know what to do in those cases, carrying your EpiPen at all times that should be a non-negotiable, should be a no-brainer, because, for just in case, right. And then, one of the things that I usually tell, actually, my clients that have diabetes, right, or have more of these chronic conditions, is that carrying a little car, right, like a little medical car that says, hey, I have this condition, this is why you do medical card that says, hey, I have this condition. This is why you do, because oftentimes, if they see you on the ground, they might not know what to do or they might think that, hey, this person is just there. But if they see that little card on your wallet or maybe a bracelet or something, that it doesn't have to be so visible, right, but if someone knows and touches it or sees it, they seek medical care right away. So having that as part of your emergency action plan can really help too.

Speaker 1:

Education is another huge one. So sometimes people might not understand the severity of the allergy, the food allergy, and they might be like, oh, don't worry, it just has a little bit, or you can like take it off or just wash it off or whatever. Right, it's not that simple, but it might be because they don't have the education. Maybe they don't know how severe this allergy is and so it's not their fault. But in our case, right, we have to educate them. We have to be like, hey, no, if I have that food, I'm going to be in the hospital or I can die. Right, if not, rapid action, medical action is given. So, really, educating your family, your friends, if you're in school, right, they should know that as well, they should have a plan on your record whether you have allergies as well workplace medical chart anywhere, right? So everybody should be informed of what your food allergy is. Just like with medications when someone has a medication allergy, you're going to see it everywhere. That should be with your food allergy too.

Speaker 1:

Okay, how about with actual intolerance? Most of the times, we have to adjust our nutrition, right? So, again, if we're lactose intolerant, the intervention should be the same, right, we should try to avoid it because you are having symptoms, right, and nowadays there's there are so many other alternatives that you can choose from to still get that calcium and that vitamin D that you need, but you're not having this bloating or this diarrhea or feeling like having these symptoms. Cow's milk now they have lactose-free milk. Right, they have lactate or ultra pasteurized. That can also help, um, with the lactose intolerance. If it's more like a gluten intolerance, right now they have products that have that are gluten-free. Or, you know, juicing grains that naturally don't have any gluten. If it's like celiac disease, that's more of an allergy to gluten. So you have to follow the same recommendations as if you were to have any other food allergy.

Speaker 1:

There are some things that we do have to really keep in mind and those are our nutrient considerations. Right, because when we do eliminate food groups, we most likely are going to have some kind of deficiency. Right, because we get our nutrients from two ways, right Either food or a supplement. The idea is to always get, or at least to try to get, all our nutrients from food first. But if we're allergic to a specific nutrient or a bigger food group right's say dairy or let's say a grains group and we're so that are high calcium, high vitamin D, and we still get those nutrients. If it's wheat or gluten, then we can have other grains that are going to provide fiber and our B vitamins and other minerals, and so that way we get them that way. But in the case of maybe we're still struggling, then we can talk to our healthcare provider, our dietician, about adding a supplement. Right, because we're not getting enough from food, for whatever reason. Okay, so we talked about that so far. Right.

Speaker 1:

How about when it comes to like feeling, like more of our emotions? Right? The psychosocial impact that having a food allergy or food intolerance plays? Right, so oftentimes that could be anxiety or stress, because either we don't feel comfortable telling people about food allergies or food intolerances, right. Or feeling like man I can never go out or I can never go anywhere because I don't know how my body is going to respond, or I don't know how the food is going to be prepared, and so oftentimes that can be overwhelming right, and it's more difficult to like, just be like, oh, I'm just gonna go in and not and not care. Right, because if it's a food allergy, obviously it's life-threatening, but the same thing if it's a food sensitivity or intolerance, right, you don't want to feel sick because you're having these foods. So if it's, if the anxiety and the stress are intervening, um, with your life or your day-to-day, the best thing to do, right is have a therapist with you, right, or talk to a therapist that can really work with you on how to manage these really strong emotions, and that way you can create a plan. It might be like setting boundaries or really speaking up and being like hey, educating, having that education. If it's like a family or friend gatherings, like, hey, I have this allergy, you're not being identified by it, right, but you're still speaking up for your own health, um as well.

Speaker 1:

In terms of like social situations, right, where you're like I don't know if they're gonna have food for me. I don't want to like feel embarrassed sometimes. What you can look at right is and this is what I tell all my clients like, just focus on the things that you can control. There's going to be situations or things that you're not able to control and we cannot do anything about that, but if we do know how we can control some of the aspects of the situation, it might help us a little bit. So, for example, if you know, historically, you've gone to a social event and you're like they never have anything for me and I'm always hungry, how about if we eat more of these balanced meals throughout the day leading to that event? So you're, you're pretty well nourished and so by the time you go to that event, you're not going to be so hungry. Right? Or have dinner right and take a dish that you that you know you can eat. Take a dish with you. You can ask for permission from the host and that way you can enjoy that specific dish. Right, you have something that you can share. So looking at things like that right, finding, looking at it more in a positive way, finding solution for yourself can really help, and you're still part of the social event, some organizations, right, that also provide a lot of support. If it's, uh, the celiac organization or association, right, you can circle in everyone allergy, they have tons of recipes there, same thing for other allergens, and so you know. There are some other groups, right, other groups of people that have maybe the same allergies and sometimes you feel more connected to them. So looking for them can really help sometimes when sometimes you need something like that.

Speaker 1:

If you're struggling with your nutrition, or if you're struggling with deficiencies or not knowing how to make your meals balance with these intolerances, with these allergies. Asking your healthcare provider to refer you to a dietician right, because you and your dietician can work together in creating this balanced meal. So that way you get the nutrients that you need. Even if you're avoiding a whole food group right, you can still get the nutrition that you need to preferably avoid nutrient deficiencies. And let's see if you're wanting more research right, you can go into the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. You can go to the Food Allergy Research and Education right, where you can find more of this reliable research that you can go to the food allergy research and education right, where you can find more of these reliable research that you can use.

Speaker 1:

But we talked about a lot of things, right again, the main thing with food allergies and food intolerances is to know the difference, right, because if, if you're not having an allergic reaction to a specific food, that's not a food allergy, right, that might be a food intolerance. And then there's also the difference of food dislikes, right, foods that we just don't like, but we are not intolerant or allergic to them. So you have to make that difference. But if you do have a food intolerance, right again, making sure that you don't continue to add it, because what that does to your digestive system, right? Um, you're having all this diarrhea or having all this bloating, right, or this pain, that's still doing something to your body, right, and so you want to make sure that you're not triggering your body that way, because that can still increase your inflammation, and so you want to make sure that you're not triggering your body that way, because that can still increase your inflammation, and so you want to make sure that you find an alternative. Or, if it's lactose, have a lactose-free lactate, or have one of those lactose pills, the enzymes that can break down lactate. They can break down the lactose for you Making sure that you have managed your food allergies right, either by avoiding the foods, having an action plan if you are allergic to a food, by educating people around you.

Speaker 1:

We cannot just assume that they should know what our allergies are, what our intolerances are, right, because that's also not fair to them. So we have to be open and we have to also set those boundaries for your overall well-being. If this is more affecting your day-to-day because of the anxiety and stress that you have because of it, talking to a therapist that can help you walk through, that can help you manage those strong emotions and that is it, of course. Speaking to your healthcare provider, speaking to your dietician right, if you are struggling to have these balanced meals, if you are deficient in, like any specific nutrient, right, you will not be able to have that support from a healthcare professional, from a dietician, to be able to help you make these meals more balanced and you're having those nutrients that your body needs.

Speaker 1:

Okay, my friend, I think that is it for today. Again, remember that in the show notes you'll have something called send us a text. So if you have any questions, any feedback, send me a text. But other than that, thank you for your time. Remember to stay strong and stay safe. I'll see you in another episode. Bye-bye for now.