Those suffering from allergy or intolerance know too well, how annoying and difficult cooking at home and eating out can be. You get different symptoms depending on whether you’re suffering from a food allergy or food intolerance. Especially people struggling with food allergy has to be extremely aware of what they nurture their bodies with. The severity of how your body reacts towards certain allergens differs quite a lot depending on who you are. Some just need to get a small amount of the allergen, and others can have a high intake before they start to feel a reaction.
A quick guide on how to check labels on food products
If you or a friend is struggling with food allergy or intolerance, you know how important it is to study the list of ingredients carefully. It isn’t easy since most allergens appear with a different name. EU is yet subject to a law stating, that all types of allergens must be clearly labelled on products. The manufactures can by themselves decide whether they mark allergens in bold, underlined or in a colour.
However, it can get a lot trickier, because well-known ingredients can contain traces of nuts or consist of soy, sesame or mustard. It must therefore be clearly marked, if ingredients contain an allergen. Tofu is among other ingredients made out of soy, which must be clearly marked on the product like this: Tofu (soy).
Manufactures are also imposed to label if products have been produced in factories where certain type of allergens are present. An example could be crisp produced in a factory, where nut production also occurs.
If you aren’t feeling well after a meal
It’s important you listen to your body’s signals, because it can actually tell you a lot about your well-being. If you feel a bit bloated, low on energy and a slight stomach ache after finishing a meal, you most likely have food intolerance towards e.g. gluten, lactose or wheat. If you on the other hand also fight with a red rash, swollen tongue and/or lips, it’s most likely a food allergy towards e.g. nuts, fish, eggs or alike. Thus, you must give your doctor or emergency room a call to have a medical check. People experiencing scenarios involving the symptoms mentioned beforehand, but also feeling dizzy, wheezy or having a raised red rash, must immediately call the emergency room.
