Issue 10/2023
Baykova, D.
Nutrition and dietetics specialist, “MARKOVS” MC – Sofia
In recent years, the number of lovers of healthy eating who, on their own initiative, undergo food intolerance tests has been growing rapidly. Thanks to large-scale advertising propaganda, these tests are becoming more and more popular, and misleading estimates from their analyzes have led to a sharp increase in adults (over 30%) who began to self-identify as “allergic” to dozens of foods and accordingly purposefully exclude them from their pattern of eating. For comparison: The actual relative share of medically diagnosed persons with allergies in our country is about 5% of the population. Doctors allergists and specialists in nutrition and dietetics alarm the health risks of such a situation: occurrence of deficiencies of essential nutrients for the body; development of eating disorders; social isolation; depression etc. Thus, based on the misleading evaluations of the results of food intolerance tests, consumers take behavioral decisions that are risky for their health. The purpose of the development is to review, analyze and discuss the differences between food intolerance, food allergy and food allergy, aimed at the evaluative value of data from popular diagnostic tests. Documentary and sociological methods of work were used.
Keywords: food intolerance, allergy, nutrition