A relatively recent addition to food label laws (2007) requires companies to list any of the top eight food allergens their products may contain within easy view. This is helpful to consumers not only because these eight foods are responsible for a lot of highly dangerous allergic reactions but also for often less-recognized, annoying food intolerance reactions. Their visibility on food labels helps those of us who need to avoid them more readily.

An allergic reaction is when your body responds to something as a foreign substance and mounts an attack. An intolerance, on the other hand, is a reaction in the digestive system rather than the immune system. But just as with allergies, the symptoms aren’t limited to one space. Along with bloating, gassiness, and regular indigestion obviously associated with the gut, intolerance can cause a long list of problems. These include headaches and migraines; nasal congestion and asthma-like symptoms; skin problems like hives or blotchiness; joint pain; or fatigue, inability to sleep regularly, and even anxiety. Do you regularly experience one or more of these sometimes annoying, sometimes intolerable symptoms? Read on.   

Without further ado, let’s reveal the top eight: peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts and almonds are the most common), wheat, fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, and soy products.

If you think you may be intolerant to one or more of these items, it’s likely worth systematically cutting each out of your diet (for at least two weeks at a time). You may happily discover that one of these trial periods relieves your not-so-pleasant symptoms.