Top 5 most hard to live with allergies

Of the millions of Brits with allergies and intolerances a quarter have declared that leading a gluten-free life is the hardest allergy or intolerance to live with. The research by Udi’s Gluten Free cited that most problems occur with restaurants and friends still giving them foods they can no longer eat! Whilst not a reflection of the severity of the different allergies and their effects, the research revealed that dairy-free (23%) and suffering a nut allergy (18%) were close contenders in the most hard to live with allergies and intolerances, whilst being vegetarian (5%) and having an allergy to shellfish (3%), in comparison, were by far easier to deal with.

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The recent introduction of the EU’s Food Information Regulation rules has seen many restaurants adapting their menus to show allergen labelling to help customers who suffer from an allergy or intolerance, however a third (32%), claim that there’s still a struggle when choosing what to eat with gluten-free options remaining limited. Holly Wales, product development director, at Udi’s Gluten Free said: “Despite supermarkets shelves piled high with gluten-free options, there still remains an underlying problem with restaurants and friends who don’t understand or know how to cater for those leading a gluten-free life. “With allergies and intolerances on the rise, the fact that people are fearing going to a restaurant, to a friends house or debating whether to go abroad or not is extremely worrying and more needs to be done. We know that there is still a lack of understanding regarding coeliac disease and gluten intolerance.”

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Maybe the problem lies here within; just 14% of young adults recognise the symptoms of gluten intolerance; with 9% thinking ‘coeliac’ is a famous Italian restaurant! However, as a nation, 91% claim to know what coeliac disease is, but of those, a muddled 2/3rds don’t know what the symptoms are. Confusion continues with more than 3 in 10 Brits believing that gluten is a type of carbohydrate found in potatoes, breads and pasta. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 do not realise pasta is not suitable for those with coeliac disease and the same have no idea beer can contain gluten.