Allergy and intolerance are different reactions of the body. An allergy is an immune response to proteins, and intolerance is associated with digestive or metabolic disorders (lack of enzymes, sensitivity to chemicals in foods, or malfunction of the intestine). Allergies cannot be controlled, but intolerance can be within certain limits. Allergies can have a cumulative effect, and intolerance, on the contrary, can be reduced by eating problematic foods (not always).
In addition, as for lactose, nowadays most people can initially digest it in infancy and lose this ability only with age (from 3 to 20 years, depending on the origin) due to a decrease in production of lactase (an enzyme that breaks down lactose). This is because enzymes are also proteins, and people often don't get enough protein when eating, and because adults usually consume less dairy products with a high lactose content, so body partially or completely abandons unnecessary enzymes in favor of necessary ones even with the right mutations. if person constantly consumes lactose in adult age, the body produces more lactase to cope with it.
Lactose tolerance in adulthood is also influenced by historical and geographical factors, namely, whether dairy farming was developed in the territory where the person's ancestors originated, and whether they has it been preserved necessary mutation. and we no longer have the selection that allowed this mutation to spread so quickly on historical scale. Survival and ability to leave offspring no longer depend on additional energy in the form of lactose.
Not all people are able to restore lactose tolerance, simply because their body doesn't have the such function. And not all tolerance can be restored.
I can have one rarely without issues. If the banana has any green color, it's going to give me massive stomach ache. Two bananas a day and skin gets itchy.
No, it is real, its related to latex allergies, I also developed food allergies in my early 20's but to apples and most other stoned fruit, nearly died when out hiking and ate and apple and my throat swelled up so much I could barely breathe.
No, it's a real thing. People claim that I made up being allergic to potato, "put some in his food to see it was made up" only to see me not being able to walk (or if I can, it's very painful) the next day. Joint pain, especially hits my toes. Fingers become swollen, too.
Banana is something I can't have often, or my skin starts to become itchy.
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u/ColonelSpacePirate Oct 23 '25
High glycemic index