Food Allergies

Food Allergies

A food allergy is when you have a bad immune response to a food protein. It’s different from other bad responses to food such as food intolerances and toxin-mediated reactions (food poisoning). The protein in the food is the most common reason for an allergic reaction. Those kinds of allergies happen when the body’s immune system thinks a protein is harmful, when it may not be. Some proteins are resistant to digestion and what isn’t broken down in the digestive process are marked by the Immunoglobin E (IgE).
Food allergy affects 6-8% of children under 5, and about 3-4% of adults. 1.68% of Canadian children have a peanut allergy, and 90% of that have had severe reactions.

Treatment:
There are many ways in treating food allergies. The most common one would be to completely distant yourself from the food you are allergic to. People diagnosed with serious food allergies may carry an injectable treatment like an EpiPen or wear medical alert jewelry.
There is no cure for food allergies but there are children who outgrow their food allergy has they grow in age.

Signs and symptoms:
IgE reactant food allergies are categorized as type-1 immediate Hypersensitivity reaction. These reactions can happen within seconds or after an hour. Some may include: * Hives * Swelling of lips, tongue, eyelids, or face * Vomiting * Nausea * Fainting * Difficulty swallowing

There are different ways you detect your food allergies. The most common way is going to an allergist, getting tiny pricks on your arm, and they will put drops of different types of foods. Whichever you react to is what you’re allergic to.
You can also get a blood test and food challenges also performed by an allergist.

History:
There has always been knowledge that food can cause illnesses, diseases, and health concerns for some people. Hippocrates (also known as the Father of Medicine) was a Greek physician who wrote about the negative effects that food could have on people, over 2,000 years ago. He said: For cheese does not prove equally injurious to all men, for there are some who can take it to satiety, without being hurt by it in the least, but, on the contrary, it is wonderful what strength it
imparts to those it agrees with;
but there are some who do not
bear it well, their constitutions
are different, they differ in this
respect, that what in their body
is incompatible with cheese, is
roused and put in commotion by
such a thing; and those in whose
bodies such a humor happens to prevail in greater quantity and intensity, are likely to suffer the more from it. But if the thing had been pernicious to the whole nature of man, it would have hurt all.

RESOURCES:

Reading, D. (n.d.). The evolving story over two decades. A history of food allergy. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from https://www.ifst.org/documents/misc/d_reading.pdf

Lundy, L. A. (n.d.). A Brief History of Food Allergies. The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/PDF/Foo

Food Allergies and Intolerances. (2012, August 22). Welcome to the Health Canada Web site | Bienvenue au site Web de Santé Canada. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/index-eng.php