Food Allergies

Food Allergies

By:


Once believed to be a rare event, approximately 5 percent of all children in the United States, and more than 10 percent of all adults may have an allergic reaction to something they eat. Typical culprits include milk, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, and wheat. Reactions can range from minor rashes to severe swelling in the mouth, tongue, and throat to violent vomiting and diarrhea, and, occasionally, death. Emergency rooms and hospitals throughout the country report rapid increases in the number of incidents tied to food allergies.

Food allergies occur when a person's body views a specific food, usually a protein, as an invader or a threat. The body's immune system kicks into high gear and tries to rid the body of the problem by using typical immune system helpers. The first signs are typically rapid breathing or wheezing, hives, rash, eczema, or a chronic runny nose. More dramatic symptoms include facial swelling or respiratory problems related to anaphylactic reaction, which require a shot of epinephrine, a hormone that stimulates the heart and relieves oVert symptoms.

Once diagnosed with a food allergy, the key is to find a nutrition specialist (with a degree or academic training in nutrition) who can help you make necessary dietary adjustments. See Table 94 for a listing of possible foods that cause allergies and tips on how to reduce your reactions. Also, remember that many apparent reactions to foods are really not allergic reactions per se. Included among this group are:

*

Food intolerance, which occurs in people who lack certain digestive chemicals and suffer adverse effects when they consume certain substances because their bodies have difficulty breaking them down. One of the most common examples is lactose intolerance, experienced by people who do not have the digestive chemicals needed to break down the lactose in milk.
*

Reactions to food additives, such as sulfites and MSG.
*

Reactions to substances occurring naturally in some foods, such as tyramine in cheese, phenylethylamine in chocolate, caffeine in coffee, and some compounds in alcoholic beverages.
*

Food-borne illnesses.
* Unknown reactions in people who have adverse symptoms that they attribute to foods and that may actually go away when treated as allergies but for which there is no evidence of a physiological basis for the reactions 34.

Food intolerance Adverse effects resulting when people who lack the digestive chemicals needed to break down certain substances eat those substances.

About the Author:
Information about diseases and conditions , their causes, symptoms and treatment. know about drugs and home remedies used for the treatment of common ailments.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Exercise Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.