Food Allergy Living

Doctors are constantly seeing a rise in food allergies. There are 8 common allergens that account for most food allergies, and these are certainly the items that most people should pay attention to. They include milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, wheat, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.
While some food allergies are easy to outgrow, others are not. Most kids who are allergic to milk, eggs, wheat or soy do outgrow their allergies by the time that they are five years old. However, only about 20% of people with peanut allergy and about 10% of kids with tree nut allergies will outgrow them. Interestingly, the fish and shellfish allergies usually develop later in life and people don’t generally outgrow them quickly.
When you have a food allergy, that means that you react to a specific food in a physical way. While some reactions are mild, others can be very severe and even life threatening. Most reactions last for less than one day, and can affect any of the following four body systems.
You might have a skin reaction that can cause itchy, red hives, eczema or redness and swelling near the mouth or face. You might have symptoms that hit your stomach and cause stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting. Respiratory issues can range from having a stuffy nose to asthma. Finally, you might have cardiovascular issues with lightheadedness or fainting.

Adult Food Allergies
Certainly, it’s a strange feeling to realize that you have a food allergy as an adult. We all assume that food allergies appear when we are children, and that they don’t suddenly come on as adults. However, it really is possible to develop a food allergy at a more advanced age. However, according to the FDA, this type of adult food allergy only occurs in about 2% of the population.
There is no hard and fast understanding about why adults would suddenly develop food allergies. There are, however, a number of theories. It’s possible that negative food reactions come from an existing pollen allergy. Another ironic theory is that food allergies are a result of hygiene that has gotten too good. Since we have so many ways to avoid germs these days, our immune systems aren’t busy fighting germs, and they get misdirected to attack harmless proteins in foods.
While food allergies are a very real thing, they aren’t as prevalent as many believe. Experts say that food allergies only affect 2-3% of people, while about 25% of the population things that it has an allergy. Often times, what you are really experiencing is a food intolerance or sensitivity. Headaches, aversions to certain foods or to their smells, and fatigue are all hints that you aren’t dealing with a food allergy, but are dealing with an aversion.