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Food Allergies

> Food Allergies

Food Allergies

Food allergy symptoms occur most often in babies and children but can appear at any age. Foods that you have eaten for years without problems can cause allergies.

An allergy occurs when something causes your body’s natural defenses to overreact. More than 50 million Americans have an allergy of some kind, but food allergies are rare. Up to 4 percent of adults have food allergies.

By using caution and carefully following an allergist’s advice, you can bring food allergy under control. Please contact your allergist with further questions and concerns about food allergy treatment.

Food Allergy Causes

The body’s natural defense network is called the immune system. It keeps you healthy by fighting off infections and other dangers to good health. Most people have no problem eating many kinds of foods. An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system attacks a specific food or something in a food by mistake.

This battle causes:

  • Blood vessels to swell up

  • Smooth muscles to contract

  • Skin areas to become red, itchy and swollen

Why Do I Have Food Allergy?

If both your parents have allergies, you have about a 75 percent chance of being allergic. If one of your parents is allergic, or if one of your relatives from either side has allergies, you have a 30-40 percent chance of having some form of allergy yourself. If neither parent has allergy, the chance is only 10-15 percent.

The amounts of a food or a kind of food you eat, and how often you eat, it may be important to why you become food allergic.

Which Foods are Most Likely to Cause Allergy?

Almost any food can start an allergy. Peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish often cause severe food allergies.

Someone allergic to a food may also react to related foods. A person allergic to walnuts may also react to pecans. Persons allergic to shrimp may also react to crab and lobster. A person allergic to peanuts may have problems with soy, peas or certain kinds of beans.

Most food allergy patients only react to one or two foods. Someone allergic to pecans may not have to stop eating all nuts. This should be discussed with your allergist.

Food Allergy Symptoms

Studies suggest that food allergies affect as many as 15 million Americans. Food allergy reactions can cause a variety of symptoms that range from mild to severe, including anaphylaxis, a serious reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death. These reactions can be the result of the immune system producing an antibody, Immunoglobulin E (or IgE) to a certain food, or the result of a non-IgE reaction, which is cell-mediated. Some examples of non-IgE reactions include milk or soy intolerances, celiac disease, Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis (FPIES), and eosinophilic disorders.

Virtually any food can cause an adverse reaction, though eight foods (egg, milk, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy) account for approximately 90 percent of all reactions.

Symptoms can involve the skin, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and/or respiratory tracts. Mild symptoms can include an itchy mouth, isolated hives, or mild nausea or discomfort.

More severe food allergy symptoms include:

  • Vomiting

  • Stomach cramps

  • Indigestion

  • Diarrhea

  • Hives all over the body

  • Shortness of breath

  • Wheezing

  • Repetitive cough

  • Tight, hoarse throat; trouble swallowing

  • Swelling of the tongue and/or lips

  • Weak pulse

  • Pale or blue coloring of skin

  • Dizziness or confusion

Credit: American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

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