Food Allergy
A
Food Allergy is an inappropriate negative response of the
immune system to a food protein ingested. The body deems the substance
in question, as being harmful, and tries to protect itself. It does
this by producing a specific antibody to fight the invader. The next
time the individual encounters the same offending substance, it
remembers, and proceeds to produce more antibodies. This results in
allergy symptoms
such as irritation or inflammation. The symptoms can vary greatly,
from being a very mild response, to being a rapid, life threatening
situation, such as in the case of anaphylaxis.
The most common Food Allergy groups are:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts (eg almonds, walnuts, cashews)
- Soybeans
- Wheat / gluten
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Sesame
A person may not actually have a Food Allergy, but rather an
intolerance. An intolerance is different, in that it is the result of
a digestion or metabolism problem, usually resulting in the body not
being able to properly breakdown or absorb the offending substance. A
common cause of this is a deficiency of a particular enzyme in the
gut. This is the case, for example, in an individual who is lactose
intolerant. Food additives and preservatives are also common culprits
of intolerances.
Although the symptoms for food allergies and intolerances can be
the same, or very similar, an intolerance does not involve the immune
system, and is not usually life threatening. Often the severity of
the reaction to an intolerance is related to the amount of the
substance consumed. This is not the case with a food allergy. Without
proper allergy testing, it is often hard to determine whether the
individual has an allergy to a specific food or an intolerance to it.
There are a number of tests available that an individual can undertake to help to determine the cause of the allergy.
