Food Allergy vs Food Intolerance

Filed in archive Allergy Basics , Food Allergies on February 15, 2007

"In eating certain foods over and over again, we use up the enzymes needed to digest and metabolise them. An adaptation develops wherein the person copes with the chronic stress by becoming addicted and consequently allergic to that particular food!"

If you know a bit about food allergies and how food allergies are triggered, you'll immediately realize what absolute nonsense the above is.

Enzymes do not get used up. We produce them without problems, and they can perform their duties over and over again. Food "addiction" does not have anything to do with the inability to digest them. And food allergies certainly has nothing to do with lacking the enzymes to digest, or being "addicted" to, certain foods. While lack of enzymes to digest certain food compounds may certainly result to adverse reactions following consumption of certain foods, this is more appropriately termed as food intolerance, and not food allergy, which involves an immune response.

For a more comprehensive explanation, and to dispel such myths, have a look at this primer on enzymes and food allergies by Dr I.V. van Heerden.