title: A closer look at food allergy and intolerance.
abstract: Food allergy is a condition prevalent in over 2 percent of the world's population. The topic has been subject to research from ancient Greek times and continues to attract modern scientific and medical communities. In susceptible individuals certain foods produce a wide spectrum of unwanted effects like eczema, asthma, and urticaria. The management of food allergy and intolerance chiefly involves elimination diets, accurate diagnosis and detecting the causative mechanism providing us with ample food for thought. In this article, we have attempted to summarize and simplify the research on the various aspects of food allergy and intolerance, and discuss the natural history, manifestations, mechanisms, diagnosis, and management of this condition affecting countless worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, The Aga Khan University and Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. arshad.saeed@aku.edu
authors.forename: Sheikh Arshad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Rahmat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Saad Shahid
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Nabeel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basit
authors.forename: Mian Zainul Sajadeen
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Urfy
mesh_terms: D004035:Diet Therapy; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000276:immunology; D007167:Immunotherapy; D009626:Terminology as Topic