Food Allergies 101

When what you eat puts your good health at risk.

Years ago, you knew only a couple of people with food allergies. You never heard about someone being deathly allergic to peanut butter or another common food. These days, millions of people are allergic to specific foods.

Different from an intolerance, a true food allergy can be a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. In the United States alone, a food allergy sends another person to the ER every three minutes.

What causes food allergies, what are the symptoms, and how are they best managed? Get the answers below.

Faulty Immune Response

Your immune system has an important job. When it functions properly, it identifies and fights off foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, the immune system doesn’t always work just right. Sometimes, it misidentifies harmless food proteins as something to be attacked. When that specific protein is ingested, your immune system is triggered.

Though food allergies can affect anyone, certain people are at higher risk. Your risk increases if someone in your family also deals with allergies. Having other allergies, such as hay fever or eczema, also increases your chances. While allergies are most commonly seen in babies and children, anyone at any age can develop a food allergy. Even if you’ve eaten a food safely your entire life, you can suddenly become allergic.

Mild to Severe Symptoms

In most cases, allergy symptoms present within minutes or hours of eating the offending food. Symptoms may affect your skin, digestive system, respiratory system, or cardiovascular system. Signs of an allergic reaction include the following:

• Reddened skin, a rash, or hives
• Swelling in the face, lips, tongue, or throat
• An itchy feeling in the mouth
• Abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea
• Wheezing, coughing, or trouble breathing
• Dizziness
• Loss of consciousness

A single mild reaction doesn’t mean future reactions will be mild. With food allergies, symptoms can become more severe with each exposure. A severe allergic reaction is known as anaphylaxis. This life-threatening allergic reaction affects multiple body systems at once and sets in within seconds or minutes of exposure. With anaphylaxis, the body begins to go into shock. Breathing becomes difficult and your pulse may become weak and rapid. At the same time, your skin may break out, and you may experience nausea or vomiting. Without immediate treatment, anaphylaxis can be fatal.

Nature’s Top Eight

Any food can cause an allergic reaction, but in the United States, eight foods account for 90 percent of all food allergies. These are milk, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.

Fortunately, food labels must list ingredients and specify whether the food contains one of the eight major allergens. Beginning in 2023, labels will identify whether the food contains sesame, the ninth leading allergen. Food labels are also required to report whether the food “may contain” the allergen or whether it was made on shared equipment as the allergen.

No Cure Available

While there’s no cure for food allergies, there are ways to help prevent and relieve symptoms. Through skin tests, blood work, or an oral food challenge, an allergist can diagnose and pinpoint a food allergy.

Once identified, take special care to avoid the offending food. In the event of accidental ingestion and a severe anaphylactic reaction, carry an epi-pen. This device contains a shot of epinephrine, which will prevent your reaction from progressing.