Food allergies
According to a study, while one in five people thinks they have a food allergy, only around one in 10 actually does. Instead, your symptoms—often gastrointestinal ones—may be the result of a food intolerance.
While that may seem like semantics, it’s an important distinction: A food intolerance may lead to discomfort and problems like diarrhea and cramping, but a true food allergy could lead to hives, a swollen tongue and throat, trouble breathing, vomiting, chest pain, and, as a result, even death. Allergy testing can differentiate between the two.
