Most Common Food Allergies

Over the past twenty years the prevalence of food allergy appears to have risen sharply. Evidence gathered over the last ten years show that the prevalence of peanut allergy has doubled in the last five to ten years. Researchers have presented many theories to explain this increase. The only clear conclusion is that no one, single cause can explain it.

A food allergy is an immune system response that creates antibodies to attack substances in food that the immune system identifies as harmful to the body. In the process, this reaction releases huge stores of chemical substances that can cause symptoms that range from hives to a potentially life-threatening system shutdown.

Just because a person becomes sick after eating something doesn't mean the person is allergic to the food, however the person should have their doctor check it out. Some people have bad reactions to foods due to food intolerances, food poisoning, or reactions to food additives.

A food intolerance is an inability to digest certain foods, such as milk or wheat. This is typically related to a missing enzyme in the digestive system that prevents a person from being able to fully digest the food.

Food poisoning is caused by foods that may have toxins or bacteria, which will make a person sick if they eat them.

MSG and sulfites often cause reactions. In these cases, the body has a chemical reaction, not an allergic reaction, to the additive, not to the food itself.

The most common symptoms of a food allergy include:

Hives, swelling, or an itchy rash

Itching or swelling of the lips, tongue, or mouth

Tightening of the chest, hoarseness, or coughing

Abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea

Fainting or passing out, paleness, blueness, irregular heartbeat

Coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing

Fear of impending doom, panic, chills, sudden weakness

Anaphylaxis (this is a sudden, sever, and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.  A person can minimize the severity of anaphylactic reactions by reacting in the following ways:  Recognize the symptoms early, self-treat immediately with the proper medication, and seek emergency medical care immediately.  Symptoms include swelling of the throat and tongue, wheezing, trouble breathing, nausea, or vomiting.  You may also feel faint or pass out.) 

Death, if effective emergency treatment is not immediately administered

Sometimes symptoms can appear within minutes and completely disappear in an hour or two. This can make diagnosis easy. In many cases, however, symptoms come on slowly, taking a few hours to appear. Some people may not even know they have an allergy because their symptoms appear slowly and last awhile. This makes diagnosis more of a challenge. Being able to have an accurate diagnosis is the first step toward getting an effective treatment.

People who have had a serious reaction in the past needs to be prepared.  They should always keep their allergy kit with them at all times.  They should also wear a medical alert bracelet so that others will know that they have a food allergy.

 Research shows that the onset of a food allergy is primarily due to genetics and the environment.  A person with a food allergy is born genetically susceptible to some sort of allergic condition.  Being exposed to even a small amount of the food sensitizes the person's immune system to the food.  Then their immune system produces antibodies to attack the food the next time it enters their system.  The person may not show symptoms the first time they are exposed to the food, but their immune system is just gearing up for the next time.  When the food is consumed again, the immune system, which is now sensitized to the allergen, leaps into action to purge the allergen from the body.

Food allergies usually show up in the first few months or years of life, and are often outgrown by the time the person becomes a teenager.  However, some food allergies, such as allergies to fish and shellfish, appear later in life and rarely disappear over time.

 Some common foods that can cause allergic reactions include peanuts, eggs, milk, fish, tree nuts, soy, and wheat.  The most common effective way to prevent allergic reactions is to avoid these problem foods.

Milk Allergy is an adverse immune reaction to the proteins in cow's milk and/or the milk of other animals.  Milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis.  The symptoms of milk allergy are gastrointestinal, dermatological, and respiratory.  The symptoms can occur within minutes, or after several hours.  The only treatment is to avoid dairy products and foods that contain dairy products.

Egg Allergy is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from the yolk or egg whites of an egg.  It appears mainly in children.  Most children will outgrow their egg allergy by the time they turn five years old, but some people remain allergic for  the rest of their life.  Their is no cure for egg allergy.  People with egg allergy have to avoid eating any form of egg or egg components.

Peanut Allergy is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from peanuts.  Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, hives, angioedema, acute abdominal pain, eczema, asthma, and anaphylactic shock.  It's more likely to develop in children who have first-degree relatives with atopic disease.  The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimates that this allergy is the most common cause of food-related death.  However, deaths from food allergy are relatively rare.  There is no confirmed treatment to prevent or cure allergic reactions to peanuts.  The only way to avoid an allergic reaction is to avoid peanuts.

Tree Nut Allergy  is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from tree nuts.  It occurs mainly in children.  Tree nut allergy is slightly different than peanut allergies, because the type of nuts are not the same.  Tree nuts are considered dry fruits whereas peanuts are considered legumes.  The symptoms of tree nut allergy is the same as peanut allergy.  Tree nut allergy is usually treated with an exclusion diet and vigilant avoidance of foods that may be contaminated with tree nuts, nut particles, and tree nut oils.

Seafood allergy is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from shellfish, scaly fish, or crustaceans.  It occurs mainly in adults.  It's usually treated with an exclusion diet and vigilant avoidance of foods that may be contaminated with shellfish, fish ingredients, and fish oils.

Soy Allergy is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from soy.  People who are allergic to soy protein should always read food ingredient labels very carefully and avoid foods that contain soybean.  They should also be cautious when eating at Asian restaurants and when using Asian sauces.  Symptoms can include urticaria, rash, redness, and sever itching of the skin.  Symptoms can happen immediately or even days after consuming soy protein.

Wheat Allergy is an abnormal immune system reaction to proteins found in wheat.  Symptoms can range from hives, difficulty breathing, and nausea.  Symptoms usually occur within minutes to a few hours after eating somethin that contained wheat.  It's usually more common in children.  Children usually outgrow the wheat allergy between the ages of three and five years old.  Avoiding any foods that contain wheat is the primary treatment for wheat allergies.

 When a person suspects any health problems, the first thing they should do is visit their doctor.  Seeing a doctor is the first step in avoiding food allergy reactions and preventing future reactions.  The doctor can record their history and initiate allergy testing.  The doctor can also rule out other potential causes for the reaction, refer the person to an allergist, and provide the person with medications  to keep them healthy until they can see an allergist.  The food allergist can perform a complete food allergy workup to pin down food allergy as the cause of the symptoms, identify the foods that trigger the symptoms, and rule out foods that are suspected of triggering the symptom, but aren't really the cause.

The information in this hub does not replace the advice of your doctor.  This hub is for informational purposes only.