When we talk about food safety, we think of harmful chemicals and infectious contaminants. But food safety is more than that – it’s also about the allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities that cause harmful effects on our bodies.
This World Food Safety Day, we want to highlight the underappreciated risks of food intolerances and sensitivities and explain several effective strategies to manage your symptoms. Read on to learn more.
What is World Food Safety Day?
World Food Safety Day was created by the United Nations (UN) to spark a conversation between governments, products, and consumers about food safety. Often, that conversation highlights the risks of eating contaminated food, foodborne illnesses, and unsafe chemicals. Indeed, it’s a global problem with significant ramifications.
Taking place on 7 June 2024, the theme for this year is ‘Prepare for the Unexpected.’ It’s a fantastic slogan for understanding food sensitivities. Food safety risks don’t just come from contamination. How our bodies react to a particular substance can range from life-threatening reactions, such as an allergy, to diffuse systemic symptoms that alter our quality of life.
Talking About Food Reactions
What is a food allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance? It’s something we’re asked all the time. Let’s clear up any confusion about these conditions during World Food Safety Day.
A food allergy refers to an immune response after consuming a particular foodstuff (the allergen). This happens because the body wrongly flags the food as a threat. In response, your body’s immune cells supply your system with histamine and head to the affected site. The result is swelling, itching, redness, hives, and more. In severe cases, a person may go into anaphylaxis, which affects their breathing and blood pressure. It’s a life-threatening condition.
A food sensitivity also causes an immune response. Unlike any allergy, however, it’s not sudden. Symptoms can appear over 24-48 hours and are rarely life-threatening. The mechanism behind food sensitivities is not well understood. What is clear is that the body enters a pro-inflammatory state. This triggers systemic diffuse symptoms alongside gastrointestinal discomfort. Common symptoms include brain fog, headaches, fatigue, stomach pain, changes in bowel habits, bloating, skin rashes, and muscle aches and pains.
Lastly, a food intolerance usually refers to the inability to digest a particular food. The classic example is lactose intolerance. People with this condition cannot digest the milk sugar lactose because they don’t produce enough of the enzyme lactase. However, the term food intolerance is sometimes used interchangeably with food sensitivity.
Why You Should Get Tested
Not sure if you’ve got a food sensitivity or intolerance? There are several tests available to try this World Food Safety Day. Many people spend years (or even longer) living with the symptoms of a food sensitivity without realising it. It’s only after the trigger food is removed that they understand how bad their symptoms were – they thought it was normal.
Getting tested is also pain-free and non-invasive. Take the Individual Sensitivity Test, for example. It only requires a hair sample to test for up to 625 sensitivities (food and environmental items). After being lab tested, you’ll receive a comprehensive report detailing your risk level for each item. Pretty impressive, right!?
Perhaps the most important thing is how it can change your life. World Food Safety Day focuses on contaminated food and poor food safety standards in developing countries.
However, spending a lifetime with brain fog, confusion, bloating, muscle pain, or any other food sensitivity symptom can harm your success. It prevents you from reaching your potential; it harms relationships and ruins job prospects. That’s why you should get tested!
Safe and Healthy Eating Tips
Food safety is all about being more thoughtful in what you eat. Think about the effect each food has on your food, whether it’s weight gain or sensitivity symptoms. Here are some healthy eating tips for managing a food sensitivity:
- Know Your Triggers: The first step in managing food sensitivities is identifying which foods cause problems. Keep a detailed food diary, noting everything you eat and any symptoms that follow. This can help you and your healthcare provider pinpoint specific triggers. A food sensitivity test is another way to guide your search.
- Read Labels Carefully: Always check food labels for potential allergens. Manufacturers often change their recipes or production processes, so it’s important to stay vigilant even with familiar products. Look for labels that clearly state the presence of common allergens like nuts, gluten, or dairy – these will be highlighted in bold according to UK law.
- Plan Ahead When Dining Out: Eating out can be challenging with food sensitivities. Call ahead to inquire about menu options and kitchen practices to avoid cross-contamination. Choose restaurants that are known for accommodating dietary restrictions.
- Cook at Home: Preparing your own meals is the safest way to ensure that your food is free from triggers. It also gives you complete control over what goes into your food, helping you to avoid hidden allergens and cross-contamination.
- Use Substitutes Wisely: For common allergens like dairy, nuts, or gluten, there are many alternative products available. However, make sure to read the labels on these substitutes, as they can sometimes contain other potential allergens or irritants.
Get Tested This World Food Safety Day
Take a deeper look at your health on World Food Safety Day. It’s a chance to ask yourself if what you eat is harming your body. The simplest solution is to get tested.
The Individual Sensitivity Test screens for up to 625 food and non-food sensitivity items. It’s easy to use. We’ll send you a home-to-lab sample kit. Take a hair sample and send it back. You’ll receive your results within 7 working days.
Buy your Individual Sensitivity Test today. Take back control of your health!
