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Food allergies and intolerances What do you need to know? Food allergies and intolerances are adverse reactions caused by eating, inhaling or touching a food or one of its components, known as allergens. While allergies cause alterations to the immune system due to exposure to one or more allergens, food into - lerances mainly cause alterations in digestive function. In the case of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, features of both disorders are sha - red. Reactions can range from mild to very severe, so it is important that affected people take precautions in planning their diet, so as not to com - promise their health. When diagnosing an adverse re - action to a certain food, an appro - priate medical evaluation should be carried out, since the elimination of allergens from the diet in people who do not suffer from allergies or intolerances does not provide any added value to the diet or to health in general. In allergies the most common symp - toms are: sneezing, coughing, it - ching, skin rashes, abdominal pain or diarrhea. However, in severe ca - ses, a reaction known as anaphylac - tic shock can occur. This requires urgent treatment, so these people should always carry information about their illness and treatment for immediate or necessary application. Symptoms of food intolerance are usually digestive in nature, such as diarrhoea, bloating, flatulence or abdominal pain. Unlike allergies, symptoms do not usually appear su - ddenly. A very common example is lactose intolerance, due to a deficit of lactase, an enzyme responsible for digesting lactose in milk and other dairy products. People with food allergy or intole - rance can eat a healthy diet, exclu - ding the food that contains the subs - tance that triggers the reaction. However, many foods that appa - rently should be free of a certain allergen (such as gluten, soya, egg or lactose), may be included in their composition, as is the case of cer - tain meat derivatives, which are so - metimes included in their composi - tion as soya or milk emulsifiers. Since December 2014, it has been compulsory to report the presence of allergens in both packaged foods and those served in restaurants or canteens. In the latter cases, the in - formation must be accessible to the customer by means of indications on the menu or through the staff themselves, who have been pre - viously trained. W E L L N E S S 40 W E L L N E S S