In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month and so many food ingredients being targeted as the culprit for making medical conditions worse, we thought we'd take the opportunity to talk about food allergies and food intolerances. Often these terms are thought to mean the same thing but not so. We'd like to clear up any confusion and explain the difference before you start eliminating foods from your diet. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) reports that 1 - 10 percent of the population suffer from food allergies with many experts narrowing the range down to 1-5%. But more than 30% of the population believes they suffer from some sort of food allergy.A true food allergy triggers an immune response – the body produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE) in defense of an ingredient perceived to be harmful. Symptoms usually occur within a few hours of eating the food. An allergic reaction to food can range from mild to serious and in severe cases can cause death if not treated immediately. Some reactions to eating foods that contain allergens can be breathing problems, diarrhea, nausea, rash, stomach pain, a swollen tongue, drop in blood pressure and unconsciousness. Tree nuts and peanuts are the leading causes of deadly allergic reactions called anaphylaxis. For adults, the most common foods that cause an allergic reaction are eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts and other tree nuts. In children the most common problem foods are eggs, milk and peanuts.Sometimes a negative reaction to an ingested food is not an allergy. It is often food intolerance, thought to be more common than an allergy. Food intolerance may cause symptoms similar to a food allergy (diarrhea, nausea and stomach pain) but there is no immune response and no risk of anaphylaxis. Food intolerance occurs when the body can't digest a food ingredient properly. Unlike food allergies, symptoms of food intolerance can take up to 20 hours to present after the food is ingested. While people with true food allergies generally need to eliminate the offending food, people with intolerance may be able to tolerate small amounts of the food without symptoms. The ingredients most often associated with food intolerance are gluten and lactose.Diagnosing a food allergy can involve a detailed diet history, physical exams, blood tests, skin tests, food diaries, and elimination or challenge diets. An elimination or challenge diet is also used to diagnose food intolerances. With an elimination or challenge diet all suspected foods are removed from the diet for one to three weeks. A small amount is then reintroduced and if symptoms come back, the allergy or intolerance is confirmed. It is important that this test is done by an experienced physician, allergy specialist or Registered Dietitian to make sure that proper nutrition is maintained. If there is a risk of a severe reaction, foods should never be reintroduced without first consulting a health professional, especially in children.Once an allergy is determined, treatment is to eliminate all foods containing the offending ingredient. If symptoms occur they are usually treated with antihistamines or an epinephrine injection in the case of an anaphylactic reaction. Treatment for food intolerance may be to eliminate the identified food, limit intake to small amounts or use medications or enzymes to aid absorption (lactase).Eliminating foods or food groups because of allergies or intolerances can lead to nutrient deficiencies. It's really important to work with experienced Registered Dietitians (like those at Sound Bites Nutrition) to develop a balanced dietary plan to make sure all nutrient needs are met. A nutrition expert can help with the developing a list of allowed products and provide information on how to identify other products by reading labels and ingredient lists. And as research keeps telling us, a good nutrition plan can help maintain good health.