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Food Allergies
By Steve Wilcott, Fri Dec 9th
An allergy can be described as a malfunction of the immunesystem, an exaggerated response to certain substances. Your bodymistakenly believes that something it has touched, smelled oreaten is harmful to it and your body releases massive amounts ofchemicals, such as histamine to protect itself. It is believed that 11 million Americans suffer from foodallergies. These are as varied as food itself is. Somepeople suffer from an allergy to one food, some to many. Themost common food are generally eggs, milk, peanuts,tree nuts (such as walnuts), fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Symptoms of food are varied and range from a tinglingof the mouth to swelling of the tongue and throat to difficultybreathing to hives, cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and in someinstances death.
There are ways to help you or your loved one manage your foodallergies. First seek the help of an allergist. Your allergistwill perform a patch test to determine the exact cause ofallergic reactions. This will be the guideline you
use as youdevelop a diet based around your food allergies. As with other types of there is no cure for a foodallergy. Some children do grow out of some food asthey age although to peanuts, fish, shellfish and nutsare often considered lifetime allergies. You or your loved onemust simply avoid the food that causes the allergy. This can bedifficult, especially when eating out in a restaurant. Dependingon the severity of allergy, even slight cross contamination offood products can cause reactions. Food labeling is a very important component of avoiding foodsthat trigger allergies. Since 2000 the FDA has been presentinginformation on allergy risks and labeling requirements tomanufacturers. They seek to have manufacturers change somelabels to be easier to read, using plain language like "milk" ona label instead of "caseinate". In the case of a milk or egg allergy there are alternatives thatcan be used when cooking or baking. There are many online sitesdedicated to supplying information, education and support tothose with food allergies. About the author:This article courtesy of http://www.allergies-questions.com
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