There is a difference between food allergy, food sensitivity and food intolerance.

A food allergy is a reaction produced by the body’s immune system when it encounters a normally harmless substance. This adverse reaction to food involves the immune system. The further breaks down into two kinds of reaction: food allergy or food sensitivity. Food intolerance does not involve the immune system.

Food allergy could be dangerous as it could cause the anaphylactic shock caused by release of enormous amount of histamine and other chemical mediators. Common foods that could cause dangerous allergic reaction are nuts and shellfish.

Food allergies usually affect airways, digestion system or skin. After being in contact with the allergen the reaction will occur usually during first two hour.

Food sensitivity is completely different. Any organ can be affected by food sensitivity and the reaction is delayd up to several days, that’s why it is so hard to learn who your enemy is. The orthodox treatment often provides only temporary relieve.

Food intolerance often causes digestion problems but the immune system is not involved. Food intolerance depends upon the amount of eaten food, the more you ate the worse could be the unpleasant reaction. If you have an allergy, then even one molecular of the allergen could cause severe health problems.

There is currently no cure for food allergies or intolerances. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid the food you are allergic to. The good news is that most children will grow out of their allergy to eggs, milk, wheat and soya – generally by about the age of five. With age the gut will mature and the response in the immune system’s to that food will change.

This is common that one person has allergy to several different foods. This is called “atopic” and refers to a tendency to develop allergies. Being atopic can mean you react to a number of unrelated allergens, for example eggs and cats. Other people can react to different foods that contain either the same allergen or an allergen with a very similar structure, which means they can cause similar allergic reactions. This is known as allergic cross-reactivity. This means that if someone is allergic to peanuts, they might react to other foods in the legume family such as soya, peas, lentils, lupin and beans.

Pseudo-allergy to food

In some people, eating certain foods causes symptoms similar to allergic reactions. However, this is not an allergy but a pseudo-allergy.
The mechanisms of pseudo-allergy are unclear. It could be –  the body’s response to the entry of biogenic amines (primarily histamine, which initiates inflammatory symptoms) and the defect of the body’s enzyme system.

Pseudo allergy reaction can be to any food and its components, for example –  food additives, instant food products, tomatoes, and other vegetables, spices, alcohol, colorants, flavor enhancers, preservatives, and natural aromatic substances. Natural aromatic substances are not only additives to various industrial food products but are also contained in completely natural products (for example, in tomatoes, and spices).

You could be tested for allergies to the following food and drinks.

A	Almonds Anchovy in brine Apple Apricot Asparagus Aubergine / Egg Plant Avocado
B	Baking powder Banana Barley: pearl barley Basil Bay Leaf Beans (Azuki/Adzuki, Black Eyed, Black Turtle, Brown, Butter, Cannelleni, Chana Dal, Chickpea, Flageolet, Haricot, Kidney/ Red, Lentil: Brown Whole, Lima, Mung, Pigeon Pea / Gungo Pea / Cajan, Pinto Beans, Soya Flour, Soya Organic) Beef Beer Beer & Lager, alcohol free Beer, wheat Beetroot Blackberry: wild Blackcurrant Blueberry Brandy Brazil nut Broad Beans Broccoli Brussel Sprout Buckwheat Butter
C	Cabbage Campari Caraway Cardamom Carob Carrot Cashew nut Cauliflower Cayenne Celeriac Celery Champagne Cheese (Cow’s, Goats, Sheep, Vegetarian) Cherries Chestnut Chicken Chickpea Chili, red and green Chives Chocolate Cinnamon Clementine Cloves Cocoa Coconut Cod Coffee Coriander / Cilantro Corn: sweet corn Cornflower / Corn Starch Crab Cranberry Crayfish Cucumber Cumin
D	Date Dill Duck
E	Egg Eggs: Quail Endive
F	Fennel Fig
G	Garlic Ginger, fresh Globe Artichoke Glucose Gluten Goat’s milk Goji Berry Gooseberry Grape Grapefruit Greengage
H	Haddock Halibut Ham Hazelnut Hemp Seeds Hops Horseradish
J	Jerusalem Artichoke John Dory
K	Kale Kiwi Fruit Kohl Rabi Kumquat
L	Lager Lactose Lambs Lettuce Leek Lemon Lemongrass Lentil: brown whole Lettuce Lime Linseed Lobster Loganberry
M	Macadamia Nut Mace Mackerel in brine Malt Mandarin Mango Maple Syrup Marjoram Marrow Melon: Galia Milk (Almond, Buffalo, Coconut, Cow, Cow Organic, Cow A2, Cow Lactose-Free, Goat, Hazelnut, Hemp, Kamut, Oat, Quinoa, Rice, Sesame, Sheep, Soy, ) Millet Mint Mixed Sweets/ Mixed Candies Molasses, organic Monk Fish Mushroom (Buna Shimeji / Brown Beech, Chanterelle, Chestnut, Cultivated, White Button, Enoki, Morel, Oyster Grey and White, Porcini/Porcino/Cep, Portobello/Cremini, Shiro Shimeji, Shitake/Chinese Black, Truffle Black/Tuber Melanosporum/Perigord/Norcia Pregiato, Truffle Summer/Tuber Uncinatum, Truffle White/Tuber Magnatum) Mussel Mustard
N	Nutmeg
O	Oats Oats: organic Oil: olive Okra / Lady’s Finger Olives in brine Onion Orange Oregano
P	Pak Choi Paprika Parsley Parsnip Passion Fruit Paw Paw/ Papaya Pea Peach Pear Pecan Pepper, black and white Peppers/ Bell Peppers Physalis/Cape Gooseberry Pilchard in olive oil Pine Nut Pineapple Pistachio Nut Plaice Plum Pollock Pomegranate Poppy Seeds Blue and White Pork Potato Pumpkin Seed
Q	Quinoa, organic
R	Radicchio Radish Raspberry Red Cabbage Red Currant Red Mullet Rhubarb Rice (long grain brown, organic, long grain white, short grain white) Rocket / Arugula Rosemary Rum Runner bean Rye
S	Saffron Sage, fresh Salmon Sardines in brine Satsuma Scallops Sea Bass Sea Bream Sesame Seeds Sheep’s Milk Sheep’s Milk Yoghurt Sherry Sorrel Southern Comfort Soya bean: flour Spelt flour, organic Spinach Squash, butternut Squid Star Anise Star Fruit / Carambola Strawberry Sugar (beet, cane, demerara) Sultana Sunflower Seeds Sweet Potato
T	Tangerine Tarragon, fresh Tea Thyme, fresh Tia Maria Tofu Tomato Trout Tuna Turkey Turmeric
V	Venison Vinegar (malt, white wine) Vodka
W	Walnut Water Melon Watercress Wheat flour (white plain organic  unbleached, white plain, white self-raising, wholemeal organic) Whisky, Scotch Wine (Red, Rose, White)
Y	Yam Yeast: Bakers Yeast: Brewers Yoghurt: Cow’s Milk