Food allergy or intolerance?
Many people experience unpleasant symptoms after eating certain foods: skin rashes, bloating, headaches and other reactions. Such manifestations are often mistaken for food allergy, when in practice they may be intolerance to certain food components. Despite similar symptoms, the mechanisms behind these conditions differ substantially.
Before attributing any adverse reaction to allergy, it is important to determine whether the immune system is actually involved or whether it is non‑immune food intolerance. The line between these concepts is often blurred, which can cause confusion and, in the end, lead to unnecessary dietary restrictions.
Food allergy is defined as an adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response to a given food component. In simple terms, allergy occurs when the immune system malfunctions (often due to genetic predisposition) and starts treating food components as potentially harmful, whereas food intolerances are non‑immune reactions. A good example is milk. You can have either an allergy to milk or an intolerance to it. The difference is that allergy develops to milk proteins (including casein), as they trigger the immune system, while milk intolerance is diagnosed when lactase activity is reduced, which impairs the body’s ability to digest milk properly. Causes of non‑immune reactions can also be linked to genetic predisposition, but more often epigenetic factors or a combination are involved: enzyme deficiencies, chronic disease, excessive histamine accumulation, gut sensitivity, chronic stress, deficiencies, genetic variants, etc.
Important! Up to 80–90% of food allergy can be explained by genetic predisposition. This means that some people are born with immune system traits that make them more sensitive to certain dietary proteins. Hereditary variants in genes responsible for IgE production, inflammation regulation and gut barrier function can significantly increase the risk of allergic reactions. So understanding your genetics is an important step in prevention and personalised nutrition.
Our report provides information on the most common food allergens and intolerances, distinguishing between these conditions. You will learn whether you have a potential risk of allergy to foods such as shrimp, peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat and others. You will also get an answer on predisposition to gluten, lactose, fructose and sucrose‑isomaltose intolerance (found in table sugar, fruit, berries, syrup and other sources) and to fungi. Moreover, the report includes a dedicated allergy section with a personalised analysis of your genetic data (based on a broad set of genes) reflecting your individual risks of immune system dysfunction. Where appropriate, and based on your genetic response, you will also receive recommendations aimed at prevention and possible correction of identified risks.