Allergy v intolerance.

[Madlegs1]

This is an article from a guy - Chris Kesser, who writes on health issues.

I thought it might interest some of you, as it brings up issues that are often discussed here.

Please excuse the wholesale lifting of the article, but I'm not very proficient at fiddling with a small mobile phone!!

"Hi, everyone,

An audible sigh.

An eye roll.

Shock and disbelief.

All too often, these are my responses when I read an article about health or nutrition in a mainstream news outlet.

So it was when this article from the New York Times popped up in my news feed:

One in 10 Adults Have a Food Allergy. Many More Say They Have One.

More than 26 million American adults have a food allergy; almost as many say they have one but probably don’t.

I’m glad to see that the NYT is reporting on food allergies. They’re much more common than typically acknowledged.

But this article completely ignores the existence of non-allergic, but still very real and sometimes quite serious, reactions to food that can occur.

Examples include:

Celiac disease. This is not a food allergy, but an autoimmune disease characterized by a severe reaction to wheat and gluten proteins.

Non-celiac gluten intolerance. Some research suggests that up to one in 10 Americans has a reaction to wheat and gluten proteins that is not autoimmune, like celiac, but still causes significant harm.

Lactose intolerance. A small percentage of people worldwide are allergic to the proteins in milk. But up to two-thirds of the global population can’t properly digest lactose, the sugar in milk. This is not an allergy, but it’s a real intolerance, and it affects billions of people.

FODMAP intolerance. A growing number of people with conditions like SIBO and IBS (which affect 10 to 15 percent of the population worldwide—hundreds of millions of people) are intolerant of certain carbohydrates, called FODMAPs, found in common foods like onions, garlic, and high-fructose fruits.

IgG- and IgA-mediated food intolerances. Many prominent immunologists like Dr. Aristo Vojdani have argued that some people have food intolerances that are not allergic but are still caused by an antibody response. Allergies are mediated by IgE antibody production, but “food intolerances”—which may affect tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions worldwide—are mediated by IgG and IgA antibodies.

What is galling about the NYT article is that the author could have done an hour of research and figured out everything I wrote above.

Instead, he chooses to mock the many Americans—and people around the world—who are sometimes deeply affected by non-allergy food intolerances, implying that these conditions are imaginary.

This kind of sloppy reporting does a disservice to people who are struggling with genuine symptoms and are trying to find the answer.

It contributes to doctors dismissing the experience of patients as “too much internet research” and researchers deciding not to pursue research in these areas.

We can do better!

In health,

Chris

Chris Kresser LLC 1810 E Sahara Ave Suite 402 Las Vegas, NV 89104"

[Graham3196]

Thanks Its depressing to see such a list of intolerances that we might be enduring and not knowing for sure what's wrong. Its a useful list to have around.

[Dajul]

Thanks! I knew I wasn't crazy! LOL! I have gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance and I'm sensitive to several types of foods, mostly seeds. I don't care what people think. As soon as my physical reaction starts, people don't think I'm making it up anymore. It sucks for me but at least it teaches people to pay attention and listen when someone says they can't eat something.

Thanks so much for sharing!