Whenever we go to a restaurant with our kids, we have a lot to consider. First, there is our son's food allergies. He can't eat things with wheat, peanuts, soy, eggs or chicken in them. And he can't go into a seafood restaurant.
His allergies make ordering something as simple as a cheeseburger at a fast food restaurant nearly impossible. When we say, "We'd like a kid's cheeseburger with no bun and no condiments," the teenager at the cash register looks utterly confused, and then messes up the order.
And then there's our daughter, who has to take a pill before she can consume anything dairy. She is lactose intolerant.
What's the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance? Food allergies provoke an immune system response that's immediate and potentially deadly. The body thinks an ingredient in food is harmful and activates antibodies to fight it. Typical symptoms include: Rash or hives, stomach pain, nausea, itchy skin, breathing difficulties, diarrhea, chest pain and anaphylaxis.
This summer, for example, our son came into contact with shellfish at a restaurant. He turned red and broke out from head to toe with in minutes. That last symptom is important. Anaphylaxis can kill and kill quickly, which is why our son always has life-saving medicine around.
Our daughter's lactose intolerance can be painful too. When she consumes some dairy products, her stomach hurts and she has other digestive discomfort. But the symptoms, which include nausea, stomach pain, gas, bloating and other GI issues, are not life-threatening.
Her intolerance is a digestive system response instead of an immune system response. Her digestive system is being irritated by the presence of lactose, which her body struggles to break down.
Does that make food intolerances less of a problem? No. My daughter feels a lot worse when she eats ice cream (without taking a lactase pill) than my son does when he eats food cross-contaminated by wheat.
Food tolerance issues are also much more common than food allergies. By some estimates, they affect nearly everyone. More than 10 percent of Americans have a lactose intolerance, for example. Only 4 percent have a food allergy. And unlike some food allergies, lactose intolerance never goes away.
(Celiac disease, which is often classified as an intolerance to gluten, may also involve the immune system and is associated with autoimmune disorders like diabetes and arthritis, but researchers don't know why.)
The biggest difference between food allergies and food intolerances is how you treat them. In the case of severe food allergies, an immediate response --an epinephrine injection, for example--may be necessary to stop the immune systems response. For food intolerances, the body needs time to recover from symptoms.
For both conditions, preventing symptoms involves the same strategy--stay away from foods that your body can't handle.
Whenever we go to a restaurant with our kids, we have a lot to consider. First, there is our son's food allergies. He can't eat things with wheat, peanuts, soy, eggs or chicken in them. And he can't go into a seafood restaurant.
His allergies make ordering something as simple as a cheeseburger at a fast food restaurant nearly impossible. When we say, "We'd like a kid's cheeseburger with no bun and no condiments," the teenager at the cash register looks utterly confused, and then messes up the order.
And then there's our daughter, who has to take a pill before she can consume anything dairy. She is lactose intolerant.
What's the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance? Food allergies provoke an immune system response that's immediate and potentially deadly. The body thinks an ingredient in food is harmful and activates antibodies to fight it. Typical symptoms include: Rash or hives, stomach pain, nausea, itchy skin, breathing difficulties, diarrhea, chest pain and anaphylaxis.
This summer, for example, our son came into contact with shellfish at a restaurant. He turned red and broke out from head to toe with in minutes. That last symptom is important. Anaphylaxis can kill and kill quickly, which is why our son always has life-saving medicine around.
Our daughter's lactose intolerance can be painful too. When she consumes some dairy products, her stomach hurts and she has other digestive discomfort. But the symptoms, which include nausea, stomach pain, gas, bloating and other GI issues, are not life-threatening.
Her intolerance is a digestive system response instead of an immune system response. Her digestive system is being irritated by the presence of lactose, which her body struggles to break down.
Does that make food intolerances less of a problem? No. My daughter feels a lot worse when she eats ice cream (without taking a lactase pill) than my son does when he eats food cross-contaminated by wheat.
Food tolerance issues are also much more common than food allergies. By some estimates, they affect nearly everyone. More than 10 percent of Americans have a lactose intolerance, for example. Only 4 percent have a food allergy. And unlike some food allergies, lactose intolerance never goes away.
(Celiac disease, which is often classified as an intolerance to gluten, may also involve the immune system and is associated with autoimmune disorders like diabetes and arthritis, but researchers don't know why.)
The biggest difference between food allergies and food intolerances is how you treat them. In the case of severe food allergies, an immediate response --an epinephrine injection, for example--may be necessary to stop the immune systems response. For food intolerances, the body needs time to recover from symptoms.
For both conditions, preventing symptoms involves the same strategy--stay away from foods that your body can't handle.