Is Your Food Allergy Actually Food Intolerance? Experts Reveal the Difference

Leading food intolerance experts, Dr. Albert Missbichler and Dr. Marcus Laux, explain how to differentiate between food intolerance and food allergy.

Phoenix, AZ, September 4, 2009 -- Naturally Vitamins announced today an interview with Dr. Albert Missbichler, one of the world’s leading experts on food intolerance, in the next issue of The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living magazine. In the article, Dr. Missbichler explains the differentiating symptoms of food allergy and food intolerance and recommends a new option for histamine-related food intolerance.

Food allergy occurs in only 1 to 2 percent of Americans, whereas food intolerance occurs in up to 20 percent of the population. Dr. Albert Missbichler explains that food allergy is an abnormal reaction to certain food proteins, usually triggered by the body's immune system, that can cause serious illness and, in some cases, death. On the other hand, food intolerance is a delayed, negative reaction to a food, beverage or food additive usually due to insufficient levels of a specific enzyme. According to Dr. Marcus Laux, N.D., renowned naturopathic physician and leading authority on science-based natural medicines, "Most all food intolerances are confused with food allergies, and this has lead to lack of help and treatment. People live for years with the broad ranging discomforts associated with food intolerance without realizing what is causing their symptoms."

So how can you tell the difference? Dr. Missbichler explains, "The question is: When do symptoms occur? If they are present within five minutes, it is an allergy. If they present after half an hour or later, it is food intolerance. In addition, allergy reactions do not depend on the amount of food you take, whereas food intolerance worsens as you consume more and more of the offending food."

The four primary types of known food intolerance are in response to histamine, fructose, lactose, and gluten. Conditions such as lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance have only recently gained credence, according to the national health magazine's report. Yet one of the most prevalent yet virtually unknown types is histamine intolerance—an inability to degrade the histamine found in many foods due to inadequate activity of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO). Dr. Missbichler says, "Histamine-related food intolerance is actually as big a problem—if not bigger—than gluten intolerance."

Histamine levels are very high in popular "guilty pleasure" foods such as pizza, beer, red wine, cured and smoked meats and fish, many types of cheeses and nuts, and various fruits and vegetables. As foods lose their freshness, they also accumulate increased levels of histamine. Unfortunately, millions of Americans have insufficient levels of DAO to process the high levels of histamine in many of the foods they love.

The effects of histamine-related food intolerance can range from common digestive system problems such as abdominal pain and spasms, diarrhea, constipation, and flatulence to headaches, skin rashes, eczema and hives—all due to the body’s genetic incompatibility for processing histamine. Until recently, the only options for those with histamine intolerance included suffering these symptoms or avoiding all histamine-rich foods.

In his interview, Dr. Missbichler recommends that people with histamine-related food intolerance take Histame® from Naturally Vitamins, the exclusive patented source of DAO in the United States and Canada. Histame's DAO was first approved for sale in the United States in 2008. Previously, hundreds of thousands of Europeans had been helped by the same source of DAO since its introduction to Europe in 2004.

Disclaimer

Please note that all conditions should be diagnosed by a doctor using reliable testing methods. If you have a food allergy, it is extremely important that you work closely with your health care provider to determine the food(s) that are causing your allergic reactions. In the cases of food allergy and food intolerance, it is recommended that you consult a registered dietitian for a complete list of foods you should eat or avoid.

About Naturally Vitamins

For more than 35 years, Naturally Vitamins has been the industry leader in the use of nutritional enzyme preparations to help balance deficiencies connected to aging. Naturally Vitamins has worked aggressively to make Histame® available to U.S. consumers after partnering with the creator’s development company Sciotec Diagnostic Technologies GmbH. The DAO enzyme contained in Histame was acknowledged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) in 2008. Histame can be purchased online at www.histame.com and from health food stores nationwide. For more information visit www.histame.com or call 1-800-899-4499.