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Food allergy


food allergy

My experience

The body's immune system keeps you healthy by fighting infections and other health hazards. A food allergic reaction occurs when the immune system overreacts to a food or substance in a food, identifying it as a danger and triggering a protective response.


Symptoms of a food allergy can range from mild to severe . Just because an initial reaction causes few problems doesn't mean all reactions will be similar; a food that triggered only mild symptoms on one occasion may cause more severe symptoms at another time.


The most serious allergic reaction is anaphylaxis, a life-threatening, whole-body allergic reaction that can impair breathing, cause a dramatic drop in blood pressure, and affect heart rate. Anaphylaxis can occur within minutes of exposure to the trigger food. It can be fatal and must be treated promptly with an injection of epinephrine (adrenaline).


Although any food can cause an adverse reaction, eight types of foods account for approximately 90% of all reactions:


  • Egg

  • Milk and dairy products

  • Peanuts

  • Tree nuts

  • Fish

  • Crustaceans

  • Grain

  • Soy

  • Sesame


Sesame is one of the most common food allergens and is found in many popular dishes, including hummus, under the name “tahini sauce”. I personally tried this sauce and had skin shock for more than 48 hours, without even knowing that the sesame concentrate would trigger my allergy!


Symptoms of an allergic reaction can involve the skin, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, and respiratory tract. They can emerge in one or more of the following ways:


  • Vomiting and/or stomach cramps

  • Urticaria

  • Shortness of breath

  • Wheezing

  • Repetitive cough

  • Shock or circulatory collapse

  • Throat narrow and hoarse; difficulty swallowing

  • Swelling of the tongue, affecting the ability to speak or breathe

  • Weak pulse

  • Pale or blue discoloration of the skin

  • Dizziness or feeling faint



Anaphylaxis , a potentially life-threatening reaction that can impair breathing and send the body into shock; reactions may affect different parts of the body at the same time (for example, stomach pain accompanied by a rash)

Most food-related symptoms occur within two hours of ingestion; they often start within minutes. In some very rare cases, the reaction can be delayed by four to six hours or even longer.



Not everyone who experiences symptoms after eating certain foods has a food allergy or needs to avoid that food altogether; for example, some people experience an itchy mouth and throat after eating a raw or undercooked fruit or vegetable. This could indicate oral allergy syndrome, a reaction to the pollen, not the food itself. The immune system recognizes pollen and similar proteins found in foods and directs an allergic response to them. The allergen is destroyed by heating the food, which can then be consumed without problems.


People who are allergic to a specific food can also potentially have a reaction to related foods. A person allergic to a nut may have cross-reactivity with other nuts. Those who are allergic to shrimp may react to crab and lobster. Those who are allergic to peanuts – which are actually legumes (beans), not tree nuts – may have problems with tree nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews; in very rare circumstances they may have problems with other legumes (excluding soy).

Knowing cross-reactivity patterns and what should be avoided is one reason why people with food allergies should receive care from a board-certified allergist. Determining whether you are allergic is not easy. Allergy tests to many foods in the same “family” may not be specific enough: many times, these tests are positive, given how similar two foods in a “family” may appear on the test.

Negative tests can be very helpful in ruling out an allergy. In the case of positive tests on foods you have never eaten but which are related to items to which you have had an allergic reaction, an oral food test is the best way to determine whether the food poses a danger.




food allergy testing

How to take the test


A food allergy usually causes some sort of reaction whenever the triggering food is eaten. Symptoms may vary from person to person, and you may not always experience the same symptoms during each reaction. Allergic reactions to food can affect the skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system. It is impossible to predict how serious the subsequent reaction might be, and all patients with food allergies should be carefully counseled about the risk of anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction that is treated with epinephrine (adrenaline).


Although food allergies can develop at any age, most appear in early childhood. If you suspect a food allergy, see an allergist, who will collect your family and medical history, decide which tests to perform (if any), and use this information to determine whether a food allergy exists.


To make a diagnosis, allergists ask detailed questions about your medical history and symptoms. Be prepared to answer questions about:


  1. What and how much did you eat

  2. How long it takes for symptoms to develop

  3. What symptoms did you experience and how long did they last.

  4. After taking your medical history, your allergist may prescribe skin tests and/or blood tests, which indicate whether food-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies are present in your body


Skin tests provide results in about 20 minutes. A liquid containing a small amount of food allergen is placed on the skin of the arm or back. The skin is pricked with a small sterile probe, allowing the liquid to penetrate under the skin. The test, which is not painful but can be uncomfortable, is considered positive if a wheal (similar to the bump caused by a mosquito bite) develops at the site where the suspected allergen was placed. As a control, you will also be given a prick on your skin with a liquid that does not contain the allergen; this should not cause a reaction, allowing comparison between the two test sites.

Blood tests, which are a little less accurate than skin tests, measure the amount of IgE antibodies specific to the food being tested. Results are generally available in about a week and are reported as a numerical value.


Management and treatment


The main way to manage a food allergy is to avoid consuming the food that is causing the problem. Check ingredient labels on food products carefully and find out if what you need to avoid is known by other names.




study the label of every commercial product

PRODUCT LABELS

The presence of the allergen must be declared even if it is only an accessory ingredient, such as in an additive or flavouring.


Some products may also be labeled with precautionary statements, such as “may contain,” “may contain,” “manufactured with shared equipment,” “manufactured in a shared facility,” or some other indication of potential allergen contamination. If you have questions about what foods are safe to eat, talk to your allergist.


Avoiding an allergen is easier said than done. While labeling has helped make this process a little easier, some foods are so common that avoiding them is daunting. A dietitian or nutritionist may be able to help. These food experts will offer advice for avoiding the foods that trigger your allergies and will make sure that even if you exclude certain foods from your diet, you will still get all the nutrients you need. Special cookbooks and support groups, in person or online, for patients with specific allergies can also provide helpful information. This is just one of the posts in which I will try to put together useful information for those who suffer from or want to prevent food allergies.


Many people with food allergies wonder whether their condition is permanent. There is no definitive answer. Allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, and soy may go away over time, while allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish tend to be lifelong.


Eating out


Be very careful when eating in restaurants. Waiters (and sometimes kitchen staff) may not always know the ingredients of every dish on the menu. Depending on your sensitivity, even just entering a kitchen or restaurant can cause an allergic reaction.


Always inform the waitstaff about your allergies and ask to speak to the chef if possible. Emphasize the need for preparation surfaces, pans, pots and utensils that have not been contaminated by your allergen, and clarify with restaurant staff which menu items are safe for you.


I hope this information helps you because I have experienced everything first hand. I chose to cook at home, buy the products myself and put what I can eat on my plate. It wasn't easy at the beginning to look for, try and experiment with commercially available foods that wouldn't cause me any allergies. Take a little more time to do the shopping and study the labels of each product. I invite everyone to choose small local productions, buy legumes with natural shapes, NOT those with the perfect shape! Because there's no way a fruit has to be perfectly uniform! It's just a marketing strategy that educates the end customer in the wrong way.

Teach the little ones that the cow is not purple like the one on the Milka label :) And here I will be back with another article about it :))))


This is obviously a joke

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