Food Intolerance
Intolerance to food can be caused one of two ways: an allergy that causes an immune response or an inability to digest something. Food allergies are very common, much like food intolerance but can be medicated with Ig-E. It is possible for people to be allergic to any type of food, but there are common allergens, such as nuts, soy, certain grains, seafood and so on. Diarrhea caused by a food allergy will last around 24 hours and will usually appear within 2 hours of ingestion. Other symptoms may include swelling of the face, tongue, and throat; vomiting; and hives.
A food intolerance, on the other hand, occurs when the body lacks the enzymes that are required to digest a certain kind of food. For example, when an individual is lactose intolerant, their body is unable to digest the sugars present in the milk. Another common kind of intolerance is that to fructose, the simple carbohydrate present in fruit and honey. This can also create an intolerance to artificial sweeteners like xylitol, mannitol, and sorbitol.
Diarrhea from a food intolerance can be chronic, sometimes lasting up for four weeks. Symptoms generally appear anywhere between 2-12 hours after consumption of the trigger food. Other signs of food intolerance include abdominal cramps and pain, as well as gassiness.
