One of the first questions I am asked is “what’s the difference between an allergy and a sensitivity/intolerance?”
First of all, an allergy is diagnosed through medical testing such as the skin prick test or through blood analysis. My concern with these types of conventional testing is when the response to an item is not severe enough, in other words activation of the Ig marker, then the results are considered negative and you do not have an allergy.
So the response needs to be of a certain degree of severity. However, what happens if there is an underlying or hidden response which cannot be detected through conventional medical testing, and yet, a reaction is occurring within you without the typical ‘allergic’ signs or symptoms as we know them?
These are considered sensitivities/intolerances and are initiating physiological dysfunction within your body and then being expressed as acute symptoms or underlying chronic health conditions which modern medicine cannot detect, but functional medicine can.
Dr. Mark Joachim, DC, FIAMA
http://www.allergyeliminationnorwalk.com
http://www.KeyEssentialNutrients.com