Think you have a food allergy? You probably don’t...
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By Jessica Carpani
‘Allergy or lifestyle choice?’ may be the response you get when walking into a restaurant and asking for a gluten-free menu.
With the rise of fad diets, trends and the increase in awareness of gut health, restaurants and cafes can no longer take an allergen menu request at face value. The issue is increasingly becoming more nuanced, which is why it may not be surprising that a new study revealed that 19% of American adults believe they have a food allergy, whilst only 11% actually do.
So what’s going on? Are people mistaking their allergy for an intolerance? Most likely, says Dr Sara Kayat, a Founding GP at GPDQ. ‘As this study suggests, many people think or claim to have a food allergy when they don’t, often because they have misdiagnosed themselves. Severe food allergies are quite rare with only 3% of the UK being diagnosed with one, whereas food intolerance, particularly to household staples such as dairy, eggs, wheat, gluten, soy and corn, is more common and...
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