Definitions
Non-allergic food hypersensitivity is the medical name for food intolerance, loosely referred to as food hypersensitivity, or previously as pseudo-allergic reactions. Non-allergic food hypersensitivity should not be confused with true food allergies.
Food intolerance reactions can include pharmacologic, metabolic, and gastro-intestinal responses to foods or food compounds. Food intolerance does not include either psychological responses or foodborne illness.
A non-allergic food hypersensitivity is an abnormal physiological response. It can be difficult to determine the poorly tolerated substance as reactions can be delayed, dose-dependant, and a particular reaction-causing compound may be found in many foods.
- Metabolic food reactions are due to inborn or acquired errors of metabolism of nutrients, such as in diabetes mellitus, lactase deficiency, phenylketonuria and favism.
- Pharmacological reactions are generally due to low-molecular-weight chemicals which occur either as natural compounds, such as salicylates and amines, or to food additives, such as preservatives, colouring, emulsifiers and taste enhancers. These chemicals are capable of causing drug-like (biochemical) side effects in susceptible individuals.
- Gastro-intestinal reactions can be due to malabsorption or other GI Tract abnormalities.
- Immunological responses are mediated by non-IgE immunoglobulins, where the immune system recognises a particular food as a foreign body.
- Toxins may either be present naturally in food, be released by bacteria, or be due to contamination of food products. Toxic food reactions are caused by the direct action of a food or substance without immune involvement.
- Psychological reactions involve manifestation of clinical symptoms caused not by food but by emotions associated with food. These symptoms do not occur when the food is given in an unrecognisable form.
Elimination diets are useful to assist in the diagnosis of food intolerance. There are specific diagnostic tests for certain food intolerances.
Read more about this topic: Food Intolerance
Famous quotes containing the word definitions:
“The loosening, for some people, of rigid role definitions for men and women has shown that dads can be great at calming babies—if they take the time and make the effort to learn how. It’s that time and effort that not only teaches the dad how to calm the babies, but also turns him into a parent, just as the time and effort the mother puts into the babies turns her into a parent.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)
“What I do not like about our definitions of genius is that there is in them nothing of the day of judgment, nothing of resounding through eternity and nothing of the footsteps of the Almighty.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“Lord Byron is an exceedingly interesting person, and as such is it not to be regretted that he is a slave to the vilest and most vulgar prejudices, and as mad as the winds?
There have been many definitions of beauty in art. What is it? Beauty is what the untrained eyes consider abominable.”
—Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)