Food intolerance, sometimes known as food sensitivity, is a condition where your body reacts negatively to certain foods that are hard to digest. This can lead to a range of uncomfortable symptoms that affect your daily life. Unlike food allergies, which involve an immediate immune response and can be life-threatening, food intolerances generally cause less severe but still significant discomfort.

Understanding how food affects your body can help explain why some people are sensitive to certain items. For example, lactose intolerance occurs when the body lacks the enzyme lactase needed to digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products. Recognising these reactions is essential for managing symptoms and improving your well-being.

It's important to distinguish between food intolerances and food allergies. Food allergies involve an immediate immune response, producing Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies that can lead to severe reactions like anaphylaxis. Food intolerances typically involve the digestive system and don't trigger the immune system in the same way, though they can still cause significant discomfort.