Sajila Nudrat | Health Editor
Featured Image: Many people are making dietary decisions without proper research first. | Courtesy of Pexels
Many students today actively avoid certain types of food if they believe they may be allergic; It’s a way to stay on the safe side if a food allergy is present. However, with a rising number of people forsaking meat, dairy, or gluten, without an allergic reaction as the reason, it begs the question: why?
Vegetarians don’t eat meat, and vegans don’t consume anything that is made using animal products (this often extends beyond diet). People turn to either practice for a number of reasons, be they philosophical, ethical, or personal beliefs.
There’s an increasing number of people removing dairy and gluten products from their diets, but does anyone really know what gluten is? It’s a composite of storage proteins that are stored together with starch, and found in grain products.
It’s not actually bad for you. People who go gluten-free either tend to do so because they suffer from celiac disease (in which case their immune system does not respond normally to it), or they are gluten intolerant—meaning their bodies cannot properly break down or digest the substance.
However, many people have begun to go gluten-free because they believe gluten is bad for them, or that they can improve their health by removing it from their diet. It has become a fashionable trend people are adopting without actually doing any research to support such a lifestyle choice.
When it comes to making decisions like this, consulting nutritionists or experts is far more beneficial than mimicking the people on reality TV.
A food allergy is an immune system response; it’s when the body mistakes an ingredient (usually a protein) as harmful; it then creates a defence mechanism to fight it. The most commons types of food allergies are nuts, fish, eggs, shellfish, and milk. The symptoms can be mild or severe, and they may include nausea, cramping stomach pain, rashes, and itchy skin to name a few.
Food intolerance, on the other hand, is a digestive system response. It occurs when a certain type of food irritates a person’s digestive system because they are unable to properly break down or digest it. Lactose intolerance is the most common type of food intolerance. Some symptoms may include nausea, stomach pain or gas.
It’s important for individuals to do the proper research, and consult experts before forsaking certain foods, and adopting these fad, celebrity-encouraged diets.
