Dr. Sue Stevens, a leading dietician and researcher in the field of fo allergies and intolerance comments that food allergies are indeed on the rise, as is the confusion between the definitions of allergy and intolerance While an allergy is a reaction in the immune system, intolerance means that the body can't process certain foods properly. As Stevens explains, there are several theories behind the rise of food allergy and intolerance, including that the modern society is"too clean" and does not allow the immune system to build up the required strength, and the rise of genetic modifications in food crops However, Stevens suspects that food intolerance such as fructose malabsorption has always been around, they just weren't spoken about. "Mally years ago people didn't talk about bloating and wind; they were a taboo topic. I think that the problem has always been there, it's just that no one discussed it," she says Increased demand for information on food intolerances and Irritable Bowel syndrome(IBS compelled Stevens and Professor Peter Gibson, the Head of Medicine at Monash University, to co-author The Food Intolerance Management Plan(Viking), which was released in May"There is a lot of misinformation out there. This book is the result not just of good ideas but also of scientific and clinical investigation," says Gibson Conventional medicine now recognizes that food choice is a very important part of helping people with LBS...This whole area has now been turned on its head with, as an American colleague said, "an avalanche of interest' in food intolerance, food hypersensitivity and diet." he says