What is Food allergy?
What is Allergy?
Every one is getting problem with the food allergy or food tolerance. It gives signs such unpleasant reaction to the food they ate. Whenever they eat this type of food, they thought that they have an allergy with that food. But very few people, children and adults come to know true allergic reactions.
Food allergy is nothing but a reaction of body's 'immune system' to the ingredients or something in a food. However, food allergy can be very serious that must to diagnose and treat in time by a specialist allergist. Food allergy is also called as 'food hypersensitivity'.
What are the causes?
Reaction occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to an allergen. The antibody called immunoglobulin E or IgE is produced by the white blood cells. Contact of this antibody with the particular food protein encourages for the production of certain chemicals that are called as Histamine.
These are the examples of mediator that acts on the various parts of the body including skin, airways, throat, heart and intestine. This affection on the organs causes to symptoms of the allergic reactions.
The foods that causes allergy:
There are very common foods such as milk, peanuts, eggs, tree nuts, wheat, soy, crustacean shellfish and fish, which are most allergic. Other foods including vegetables and certain fruits are also included in the allergic foods. Most of children face the allergic conditions with the foods such as eggs, milk, wheat and soy. These allergies may be for some periods but to the tree nuts, peanuts and fish are mostly continues and are counted most of the severe cases. Shellfish allergies occur during childhood and adulthoods.
Most of people with allergies reacts with some specific and few foods but some people may allergic to more than one food that is called as cross-reaction. There are some examples such as:
- Allergy to wheat where there is cross allergy to rye
- Allergy to peanuts- it cross allergies to green beans, soybeans and peas
- Allergy to pollen gives cross reaction to the foods such as green apples, almonds, hazelnuts and peaches.
- Allergy to cow's milk gives cross allergy to goats milk
The allergy symptoms may differ in different individuals, but may differ in the same person due to the different exposures. The foods reactions can vary into severity and can affected after eating the food. Exercise is also another factor for causing allergies.
There are verious symptoms of food allergy including skin irritations such as hives, enzema and rashes, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting.
There may also sneezing, shortness of breath and runny nose because of food allergy. However, these symptoms are not the common symptoms with food allergy. Some people may also experience anaphylaxis that is more severe than other symptoms.
How it can be cured?
Dropping the food items causing allergies is the primary treatment to treat the food allergy. The person having allergies have to identify the food causing allergies and then must be removed from the diet. People have to avoid the food that they are most sensitive with. Avoid the foods that contain the factors, which are having the ingredients responsible for occurring allergies.
