Food allergies should not be confused with intolerance for
certain food items. Lactose intolerance is caused by a scarcity of the enzyme
lactase and can lead to bloating and digestive problems. Whereas, a milk allergy can cause severe immediate or
delayed reactions, whenever a food item containing milk in any form is
consumed. Allergies which occur in childhood often go away after a certain
length of time, but adult allergies normally remain through a lifetime.
The most common food Allergies are as follows:
Fish
Fish allergies are among the most widespread allergies in
the world. Shellfish is frequently the main culprit but there are many who are
allergic to all types of fish. It does not seem to affect children as much as
it does adults, and in some cases people are allergic only to cooked fish and
not raw fish. The reactions are severe and anaphylaxis can be one of the
resultant problems
Shellfish
Shellfish allergy is probably the most common allergy among adults.
It generally appears later in life and in some cases the reactions can occur
even from airborne particles when shellfish is being boiled or cooked. Cat food
which often has shellfish ingredients in it can also cause an allergic
reaction.
Peanuts
Allergy to peanuts is also one of the world’s most prevalent
ones. This allergy is different from nut allergy since peanuts are generally
considered to be legumes rather than nuts. A lifelong allergy, in some cases it
is so acute that even eating food from a utensil in which peanuts have been
cooked earlier can cause an intense reaction.
Tree Nuts
Other nuts such as walnuts, pine nuts, cashews, macademia
nuts, almonds and pecans can be a cause of an allergic reaction in some people.
There are some who are allergic to only one kind of nut, but as a safety
precaution they stay away from all varieties of nuts.
Eggs
This is one of the few allergies which seems to go away once
a child grows older. The proteins in the eggs known as ovumucoid, ovalbumin and
conalbumin are responsible for creating these allergies. Cooking does not kill
all of them, hence eggs are not consumed in any form by these children or the
rare adults who suffer from egg allergies.
Chocolate
Imagine having to live a life without being able to consume
chocolates! But there are quite a few human beings who get a bad reaction when
they consume chocolate in any form and have to maintain a distance from all
products containing cocoa.
Wheat
Wheat is so much a part of a diet that it is difficult to
eat a meal without consuming it in some form or the other. There are many
allergenic components in wheat which cause different types of allergies but
most of the get bundled under the common denominator of wheat or gluten
allergy.
Milk
1% to 7% of the children all over the world suffer from some
form of milk allergy, which is however often confused with lactose intolerance.
Milk allergies are very prevalent among children and often carry over on even
when they are adults. Dairy products in all forms are taboo for them, and this
includes foods such as cheese and icecreams etc.
Soy
Many children who are allergic to milk are also allergic to
soy. Lately soy has been used in much larger quantities in many prepared food
items, hence the number of cases of soy allergy have been increasing. Many
vegetarians, specially from East Asia use soya as one of the basic ingredients
in their diet, thus it is difficult to avoid eating it in those households.
However it is believed to be prevalent mainly among children and most of them
outgrow it as they grow older.
Berries
It is rare to find a person who is allergic to berries of
all types, but there are many who are unable to consume a particular type of
berry. This is generally the care with raspberries or strawberries, and
occasionally blackberries may be the culprit. It is much more prevalent in
Western countries.
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