According to Web MD, food sensitivities and food allergies are different from each other.

What is food intolerance?

Food intolerance is a digestive system response rather than an immune system response.  It occurs when something in a food irritates a person’s digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or break down the food. Intolerance to lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products, is the most common food intolerance.

You could suffer from lactose intolerance, for example, if your digestive system doesn’t make enough lactase, an enzyme that breaks down the sugar in dairy foods.  This could happen because your ancestors never had milk available to drink and never developed a way to digest it.

What is a food allergy?

You are considered allergic if your immune system over-responds to a usually harmless substance.  Called allergens, these substances can range from pollen to peanuts to poison ivy.  Your eyes, respiratory system digestive system, and skin are most often affected.

A food allergy is an immune system response that occurs when the body mistakes an ingredient in food — usually a protein — as harmful and creates a defense system (antibodies) to fight it. Allergy symptoms develop when the antibodies are battling the “invading” food. The most common food allergies are peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pecans and almonds), fish, and shellfish, milk, eggs, soy products, and wheat.

Symptoms:

Skin rash or hives; stuffy nose and sneezing, coughing and difficulty breathing; red, watery eyes, stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhea, or vomiting.

• Keep a diary and learn your trouble foods.
  An accurate record of what and when you eat that precedes an allergic reaction will help your doctor pinpoint what’s ailing you.

• Avoid trouble foods
  Learn which foods you are allergic to and then avoid them like the plague.

• Read labels
  Packaged foods can hide your allergen where you least expect it.  For example, that soup packet could be enriched with powdered milk, or snack cakes could contain nuts.

• Ask the chef
  When eating at restaurants big dangers are hidden ingredients in sauces, dressings, etc.  Be sure to ask questions.  The same is true if you have dinner at a friend’s home.

Be ready for a crisis

• Get a diagnosis:
  Find out which foods you are allergic to.

• Carry emergency medication.
  Ask your doctor for medicine to stop allergic reactions when they occur.

• Wear medical alert info.
  In case you suffer anaphylactic shock, emergency medical personnel need to know exactly what is wrong and what needs to be done.

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