Around 5% of adults and 7% of children suffer from allergies to some food, according to figures from the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEIAC). This means that in Europe there are 17 million people with food allergies, of which three and a half million are under 25 years of age. This is indicated by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), which highlights that “the number of serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions due to food allergy is increasing.”
The cause of the increase in allergies in recent times is not exactly known. The pediatrician and children’s pneumoallergist Gemma Morera, founder of the Gemma Morera Medical and Pediatric Center, in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona), explains that “although there may be a genetic predisposition, the allergy is always multifactorial. It is known that there is an environmental component. and that there are risk factors such as tobacco, pollution or the consumption of ultra-processed foods that can affect its development.” The five main food allergies are, in this order, to cow’s milk protein, eggs, fish, shellfish and nuts.
Another important factor for the development of an allergy is the introduction of foods in childhood, guidelines that have been modified over time. Morera explains: “We have seen a good example that the introduction of foods can be decisive in preventing allergies with peanuts. Before, many allergies to peanuts were diagnosed and for some time now they have been considerably reduced. This is due to because before, peanuts were introduced at three years of age and, since this date was brought forward, there are hardly any diagnoses. This maxim can be applied to practically all foods, which are increasingly introduced earlier. “The latest recommendations already urge the introduction of almost all foods at 6 months, at the time when complementary feeding is integrated, although always with consistency and common sense,” explains Morera.
The pediatrician points out that many people confuse allergies and intolerance, two adverse reactions to foods that, although they may share certain symptoms, are not the same. “We talk about allergy when we refer to a sudden, acute condition, with symptoms that appear approximately half an hour after consuming the food. Digestive, respiratory and skin symptoms can occur, generally intense,” explains Morera. The symptoms of intolerance, however, appear two hours after consuming that food, and can even last up to a day later. In this case, “they are always digestive, generally less intense than those of allergies, and range from diarrhea to flatulence or bloating,” explains Morera, who recalls that “allergies can be life-threatening, intolerance No”.
For his part, Dr. Diego Sánchez Muñoz, specialist in the Digestive System and medical director of the Digestive Institute of Seville (IDI), explains that “allergies are reactions of the immune system and are mediated by immunoglobulin E, while intolerances are not This antibody comes into play.” Since the symptoms can be common, “diagnostic tests are always required before prescribing a treatment, which always involves avoiding the intake of that food in the case of allergic people or modulating it in the case of some intolerances.
In fact, “when an allergy is diagnosed in a child, the foods are always tested in the hospital, while in the case of intolerances these can be tested at home,” explains Morera, who insists that intolerance “does not represent any risk to life, but it can affect the quality of life of people who suffer from it”, so a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important. Hypochondriacs can breathe easy, since there are no silent intolerances, so if you do not have any symptoms it is not possible that an intolerance is developing.
Restrictive diets are, according to Morera, a risk factor for the development of certain intolerances, which are increasingly common among the population. “Many children on restrictive diets, especially those from whom gluten and lactose have been removed without a doctor’s prescription, may end up developing an intolerance,” explains the pediatrician. Morera points out that there are many families who, following trends without scientific basis that invite them to eliminate gluten and lactose, especially, end up harming their children, “not only because it is important that children receive the set of fundamental nutrients for brain development. and visual, to have a correct weight and height and other benefits, but because these restrictions can lead to the development of an allergy or intolerance in the future.
In fact, in Morera’s opinion, removing foods without reason following supposed fashions is not only not recommended for children, but also not for adults: “Although it is true that restrictions do not affect that much in adults, a healthy diet should not contemplate the withdrawal of foods. “no food or nutrient if there is no prior diagnosis that indicates it.”
Another difference between allergies and intolerances is found in their diagnosis. “While allergy can be diagnosed by a blood test, intolerance, for now, can only be evaluated by trial and error. Except in the case of lactose intolerance, which is diagnosed by a breath test, For the rest of the intolerances, the food or nutrient in question is gradually removed and introduced and the adverse effects are checked,” says Morera.
As for food intolerances, the most common is lactose. According to data from the Food Intolerance Network (FIN), between 20% and 30% of the Spanish population is lactose intolerant, while in areas such as the United Kingdom or the Scandinavian countries this figure is reduced to 5%, and in Southern Africa, South America and Southeast Asia this percentage reaches 80% of the population. Lactose intolerance is due to a deficiency of the enzyme lactase, necessary for digestion, which is progressively lost if dairy consumption is eliminated or reduced. “The percentage of people who do not have the lactase enzyme is only 2%, however, the number of lactose intolerant people is high. The reason is that from the moment we remove dairy products from the diet, the body leaves to generate lactase and, therefore, it is unable to digest lactose once it is reintroduced,” explains Morera. The pediatrician remembers that lactase can be temporarily lost after gastroenteritis and that, even in these cases, even if dairy products are withdrawn for a certain time, it is always recommended “to keep some yogurt or a small portion to regenerate this enzyme little by little.” little until you return to consuming dairy products normally.
For her part, Katja Serra, a specialist in the Digestive System and Endomedicine at the HM Nou Delfos Hospital, explains that, “unlike allergies, in the case of intolerances the patient can tolerate small amounts of food without causing symptoms.” “. Serra also remembers that people with intolerance have “enzymatic supplements that can be consumed when you choose to eat foods to which you are intolerant, including lactose.”
The most common intolerances after lactose are to fructose, on the one hand, and on the other, gluten intolerance in non-celiac patients. According to Sánchez Muñoz, gluten intolerance should not be confused with celiac disease, since “celiac disease is due to an immunological reaction to the ingestion of gluten that causes atrophy of the duodenum and is detected by a blood test, while to detect There are no specific tests for intolerance, so it is about discovering little by little if there is a deficiency in the enzyme that allows us to digest wheat and other cereals with gluten.
For Sánchez Muñoz, the fact that intolerance is difficult to diagnose gives rise to numerous false self-diagnoses and many people remove gluten from their diet without knowing for sure whether it is the culprit of a series of diffuse digestive symptoms. “It seems that in recent times it has become fashionable to blame gluten for all ills and in many cases this is not the case,” explains the doctor. In fact, according to the report Food exclusion trend in the Spanish population, 8% of the population follows a gluten-free diet and in 72% of cases there is no scientific reason behind it.” It must be taken into account that many Of the symptoms that we often attribute to the consumption of gluten, they actually have to do with the ingestion of poor quality breads and pastries, loaded with refined flours and starches.
