Is there any cure against food allergy? It's a terrible illness, you always have to pay attention to everything you eat. You were right, I don't know what's the difference between food allergy and food intolerance although I've had food intolerance before, one of the intolerance led me into having hemroids, it's a traumatizing experience physically but also psychotically.

Celiac Disease is an illness that can kill you, not an allergy or an intolerance. Putting out incorrect information furthers the stereotypes that those of us with CD deal with on a daily basis.

I was excited to read this article when I saw it. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease two years ago, and like to read various articles on food allergies and intolerances. However, I was extremely disappointed to read your classification of Celiac Disease as a food intolerance, which only causes discomfort, but not actual damage to the body. That is a very incorrect description of Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the small intestine when gluten is present in the body, even a tiny amount can trigger an attack. From my experience, if I accidentally eat gluten (usually at a restaurant when they don't understand what I'm trying to explain to them) an episode can last up to several weeks. Celiac Disease is extremely misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed. People can end up being severely dehydrated and malnourished if the disease is not diagnosed, because the small intestines can become so damaged that it stops absorbing food and water if the proper diet is not maintained. I applaud the efforts of this article that shows that food allergies and intolerances affect a person on a daily basis. However, as someone who struggles with Celiac Disease every day, I want people to understand that this is a serious disease with serious consequences and not just an intolerance that causes some discomfort.

Emily,
In your other article "Gluten-Free Eating: Important for Some, Not Necessary for Everybody" (linked to from this one) you contradict yourself about ciliac being an immune response vs intolerance. But aside from that major slip in continuity, I agree there is a difference between an immunity reaction and intolerance. But I don't believe these are the only two categories, nor are they mutually exclusive. In addition, a person's intolerance may change over time as your body looses or gains the ability to produce enough of the digestion aid (ie lactate). I also believe the immune reaction is only a symptom and not a cause. Therefore if we were able to determine the cause and fix that, the immunity would go away over time.

I was just reading an article about CD in Scientific American (Aug 2009 pg. 54-61). It stated that CD is an immune response to wheat gluten (or the equivalent protein in barley and rye). The immune system then goes on to destroy parts of the intestinal lining and this can lead to all sorts of malabsorption problems (including death). So, I think I would classify CD as an allergy, not as an intolerance. -MJB