Things to know about tomato intolerance

Have you ever felt tired or exhausted after eating tomatoes?

In fact, a great many people experience such symptoms after eating tomatoes. For some, there are also rashes. These symptoms clearly indicate a tomato allergy. However, a clear distinction must be made between an allergy and an intolerance.

If you suffer from an allergy, you will not only suffer from symptoms after eating it, but also when you come into contact with the tomato. A brief touch is usually enough to cause an allergic reaction.

The intolerance, on the other hand, is a long time coming with its symptoms. Even if the symptoms don’t appear until days after you’ve eaten the tomato, you may still have an intolerance. In the case of a tomato intolerance, the cause of the complaints lies in the intestines. It can sometimes take a few days for the tomato to get there.

But what exactly is a tomato allergy and how does it differ from tomato intolerance? In the following you will find out more about this and how you can help yourself if you are ill.

What is a tomato allergy?

An allergy is triggered by antibodies in the body. The immune system jumps on and fights against the evil intruder. The result of this is usually rapid onset of complaints.

The symptoms of an allergy can usually appear shortly after contact with the tomato. Only a few seconds are enough to trigger allergic reactions.

But what is the cause of a tomato allergy?

The body is allergic to tomatoes. Actually, tomatoes are completely harmless to the body. Your body still reacts with complaints if you suffer from an allergy. The immune system is then programmed accordingly and triggers a reaction. In short, it is a faulty programming of the immune system.

A tomato allergy is mostly due to the histamine contained in tomatoes. The body makes antibodies, although tomatoes are actually not dangerous to the body.

A classic reaction is inflammation in the body. A tomato allergy usually occurs in combination with other allergies. In most cases it is therefore a so-called cross allergy.

Do you suffer from a latex allergy? Then you are most likely also affected by a tomato allergy. Experts speak of that here Latex fruit syndrome.

Most people also suffer from intolerance or allergies to other foods. Often these people are also allergic to other vegetables or fruits. Anyone who suffers from a tomato allergy is usually also allergic to bananas, kiwi, peppers or potatoes. This is due to the high levels of histamine in the food.

If you have already been diagnosed with a tomato allergy, the only help is to give it up completely. However, tomatoes are the basis for many dishes. Therefore, be careful when you eat out.

It is best to always ask if they contain tomatoes and point out that you are allergic.

The symptoms of a tomato allergy

Basically every person is different and therefore reacts to an allergy with different symptoms. However, the symptoms of a tomato allergy are often very similar and in the worst case scenario can even be life-threatening.

Those affected very often complain of rashes or redness. Diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting are also symptoms that are very common.

A severe allergic reaction to eating tomatoes can also cause swelling of the face and throat. This can lead to anaphylactic shock.

Therefore, take a tomato allergy seriously in any case. Anaphylactic shock can quickly become life-threatening if not acted quickly enough.

What is a tomato intolerance?

Are you unsure whether you have an intolerance or an allergy? Even experts find it difficult to differentiate. The symptoms of an allergy are very often the same as the symptoms of an intolerance.

A distinctive distinguishing feature, however, is the time at which the symptoms appear. In the case of intolerance, symptoms can still appear days after consumption.

Even with an intolerance, the cause of the symptoms can be traced back to the histamine.

If you have histamine intolerance, your body cannot adequately refuse histamine. There is therefore an imbalance. Histamine is responsible for the messenger substances in the body. It regulates inflammation.

If there is an excess of histamine, the body reacts.

In the case of an intolerance, however, the histamine is not always to blame. In some cases it is also due to the hard tomato skin. This is difficult to digest and therefore often causes digestive problems.

Maybe you are missing that enzyme responsible for processing fructose. The intolerance reaction is therefore only triggered in the intestine. Those affected then suffer from severe digestive problems such as diarrhea, gas and stomach pain.

Headaches or tiredness are also complaints that are very often mentioned in connection with an intolerance.

Have you heard of tryptamine? This is a substance contained in tomatoes and to which many people react with complaints. Tryptamine triggers a chemical compound in the body that then triggers classic symptoms of intolerance.

Another cause of intolerance to tomatoes can be that your body is making too many antibodies. For some inexplicable reason, when you eat tomatoes, your body makes more antibodies than normal. He therefore reacts with symptoms of defense.

What symptoms does a tomato intolerance trigger?

The symptoms of intolerance are often not very different from the symptoms of a tomato allergy.

A big difference, however, is the time at which the symptoms appear. In the case of a tomato allergy, a brief skin contact is sufficient to suffer from severe symptoms within seconds.

In the case of tomato intolerance, on the other hand, the first symptoms usually appear much later. This has to do with the fact that an intolerance arises in the digestive tract. It is therefore not uncommon for you to experience discomfort hours or sometimes even days later.

The classic symptoms of tomato intolerance are diarrhea, flatulence or inexplicable abdominal pain. In some cases, people also experience rashes or redness on the skin.

Did you know that tiredness or fatigue can also be symptoms that indicate an intolerance to tomatoes?

Headache and sore throat are symptoms as well. In very rare cases, sufferers report sweating more than normal. The body is driven by the defense reaction to increase perspiration.

Test tomato intolerance

Do you suspect that you have a tomato intolerance? It shows classic symptoms that other incompatible foods do not trigger.

Your symptoms may be enough to suspect a tomato intolerance. Be sure to discuss your symptoms with a doctor.

An intolerance can tested in different ways . Many doctors use a so-called prick test for this. The prick test is particularly useful to test your body for an allergy. The alleged allergen is applied to your skin and then inserted into the skin with a short needle prick.

Another way to diagnose intolerance is the elimination diet.

Do you suspect that you are reacting intolerably to tomatoes? Eliminate tomatoes from your diet. Do your symptoms resolve once you stop eating tomatoes? You can then be pretty sure that you have a tomato intolerance. It is important that you stick to the elimination diet. Just one exception could mean that the result will be falsified.

In the event of an intolerance, the symptoms may only appear days later after consumption. That said, even if you only eat a small piece of tomato, you may not experience symptoms until days later. It is then very difficult to see where the symptoms are coming from.

The best way to find out about an intolerance is to do a blood test. A blood test can be carried out at a doctor or at various online providers. Either the doctor will take blood or you will take a small prick in your index finger yourself.

The blood test will check your blood for antibodies. The antibodies can be used to determine whether you have a food intolerance.