Not all Allergies Are Real

Filed in archive Food Allergy on May 16, 2010

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Many food allergies are real and can be life-threatening. It would be wrong to dismiss them. But many people think they have them when they actually don't, according to a new report commissioned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Doctors are misdiagnosing allergies where none exist and people assume they have allergies when they do not. For many people, a food allergy diagnosis can take over their lives. It can make them worry too much about food when eating out. Some are frightened that if they let down their guard they can die.

People are overemphasize allergies, in part, because testing for ImmunoglobinE, or IgE, an antibody associated with allergies, has become so easy. A primary-care doctor draws blood from a patient and sends it off for testing. Often a test will come back positive for IgE. But these antibodies can appear and disappear for any or no reason at all and no one quite understands why. The presence of IgE antibodies does not necessarily mean that the patient has an allergy.

The word "allergy" has come to connote any unpleasant experience with food. But unlike true allergies, which can kill, food intolerances are just uncomfortable.

For example if you discovered that chickpeas cause you intestinal distress, you might say you are allergic to chickpeas. But the truth is you just might be unable to tolerate chickpeas.