Food Allergy

Food allergy is an abnormal response to a food triggered by your body's immune system. Allergic reactions to food can sometimes cause serious illness and death. Tree nuts and peanuts are the leading causes of deadly allergic reactions called anaphylaxis.

In adults, the foods that most often trigger allergic reactions include

Fish and shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster and crab
Peanuts
Tree nuts, such as walnuts
Eggs

Problem foods for children are eggs, milk (especially in infants and young children) and peanuts.

Sometimes a reaction to food is not an allergy. It is often a reaction called "food intolerance". Your immune system does not cause the symptoms of food intolerance. However, these symptoms can look and feel like those of a food allergy.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Food Allergy on Wikipedia

In medicine, '''food allergy''' is hypersensitivity to diet (nutrition)ary substances, leading to various types of gastrointestinal complaints. It occurs mainly, but not exclusively, in children. It is a common type of allergy, and is usually treated with an exclusion Dieting.

Signs and symptoms

Most patients present with diarrhea after ingesting certain foodstuffs, skin symptoms (rashes), bloating, vomiting and regurgitation. The digestive complaints usually develop within half an hour of ingesting the allergen. Rarely, food allergy can lead to anaphylactic shock: hypotension (low blood pressure) and loss of consciousness. This is a medical emergency. An allergen associated with this type of reaction is peanut, although latex products can induce similar reactions. Initial treatment is with epinephrine (adrenalin), often carried by known patients in the form of an Epi-pen. Food allergy is thought to develop more easily in patients with the atopic syndrome, a very common combination of diseases: allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis, eczema and asthma. The syndrome has a strong inherited component; a family history of these diseases can be indicative of the atopic syndrome.

Diagnosis

As meals tend to consist of different ingredients, it is not always easy to identify the allergen. Moreover, laboratory diagnosis is imprecise and expensive without a clinical indication which foods may cause the symptoms. Excluding very common allergens is therefore often attempted; in young children, this can be cow's milk (necessitating the use of soybean products)eggs, or tree nuts and peanuts. If an allergen cannot be identified, blood tests may help identify a cause. A full blood count is usually normal, but severe causes may reveal eosinophilia. Routine organ markers and electrolytes are usually normal (unless there has been ... [ Read More ]

External Resources

Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques - A holistic treatment for the permanent elimination of food and environmental allergies, which may be the cause of a wide range of illness.

J.A. Hall Publications - Health publications on food allergy and intolerance with medical laboratory practice manuals available.

Edible Options - Cookbooks for food allergies, particularly Celiac disease, by Shirley Hartung.

Buckwheat Pete - No wheat and gluten-free baking recipes for food allergies and celiac disease. A free sample may be read before purchase. Only available in PDF format.

York Nutritional Laboratories - Information about an at-home food allergy test which does not require a blood draw. Also ordering instructions.

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network - Offers medication pouches, wallet cards, educational and business guides and posters, books, and training tools.

HSC Specialty Food Shop - Products for individuals on special diets, including allergy, gluten-free, low-protein, dysphagia, and infant formulas. Owned and operated by The Hospital for Sick Children.

Kingsmill Foods - Gluten free, wheat free, egg free, milk free, allergy sensitive, low protein and lactose reduced foods for special dietary needs. Worldwide shipping.

Gluten-Free Pantry - Gluten, wheat, lactose, corn, egg, and soy free foods, cooking equipment, cookbooks for celiac disease, autism and wheat allergy diets. Includes recipes for download.

Miss Roben's Allergy Foods - Specializes in helping those with multiple food intolerances offering products free of wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy and nuts.

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