Mythbuster – If someone doesn’t feel well after eating a food, they must be allergic to it.

FACT: There are different reasons that a person may feel unwell after eating a food. If someone has a food intolerance, they are unable to digest or absorb certain foods. For example, an individual with lactose intolerance does not have enough of the enzyme lactase to break down the sugar (lactose) found in dairy products. Celiac disease is a disorder of the immune system that is triggered by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale. The disease causes damage to the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. When someone has a food allergy, their immune system mistakenly treats something in a particular food (most often, the protein) as harmful and their body reacts to the food (an allergen) by having an allergic reaction.

These are examples of the ways that an individual can react abnormally to a food. In all cases, a person needs to know the ingredients of a food in order to make safe and informed choices.

If you do not feel well after eating a particular food, please speak to your doctor to help you determine what is going on. In the meantime, you can also visit AllergyCheck.ca, this app is intended to help you understand whether specific symptoms may be caused by a food allergy and whether further advice from an allergist is recommended.