Food Allergies: Your Questions, Answered

From celebrities shunning gluten to schools banning peanuts, food allergies are all over the news. To get up-to-the-minute info on why so many people are affected, Health went to one of the country's leading experts, Stephen I. Wasserman, M.D., a professor of medicine and researcher at the University of California, San Diego, and a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

What's behind the increase in food allergies?
There are a lot of different theories. One is the hygiene hypothesis, which notes that because we're growing up in cleaner environments, our immune systems don't become properly educated and start overreacting to harmless things.

Another theory is that people are exposed to more new foods now that we're a more international community.

Then there's the belief that by avoiding foods like peanuts early in life, people may not handle them well when they experience them for the first time, whether later in childhood or as an adult. Whatever the reason, it's important to know that you absolutely can develop new food allergies as an adult.

More From Health.com:
20 Ways to Prevent Allergies
How to Stop Allergies at Home
The 10 Worst Plants for Your Allergies

What's the best way to get an accurate diagnosis?
An allergist can give you a blood test to measure IgE antibodies -- substances produced by your immune system in response to an allergen -- against eggs, shrimp, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, and other suspected triggers.

Some physicians do skin-testing, just like they do for hay fever, but it's a little trickier for foods because sometimes only a fresh food, not an extract, will elicit a reaction. The blood and skin tests are considered equally reliable -- but you can't rely only on testing. Many people will test positive to a particular food, but they can still eat that food without a problem.

Can unexplained weight gain, digestive problems, or fatigue be symptoms of food allergies?
No. Food allergies are usually associated with itching, rashes, hives, or, in severe cases, swelling of the mouth and tongue, difficulty breathing, or low blood pressure. Digestive problems, fatigue, or weight gain are not symptoms of food allergies.

People with these symptoms may have lactose or gluten intolerance (an intolerance is a digestive response, not an immune response), irritable bowel syndrome, depression, stress, or some other medical problem.

Is it true that some allergists are having people consume small amounts of foods they're allergic to in order to build up tolerance?

Yes, some doctors are beginning to do oral desensitization, but it's still experimental. It's also very risky, so this is not something to try at home! Researchers are also working on developing a peanut-allergy vaccine. It's interesting research, and there is a real possibility of success, but this isn't likely to be available in the next five years.

In the meantime, the best things you can do are to know what you're allergic to and avoid it.

We hope that there will be a cure someday.

Comments

[e1q8]

08:46 AM on 01/14/2011

My son has multiple, severe food allergies. Living with or caring for someone with such allergies is a 24 hour, stressful situation. However, I've tried hard to maintain a healthy, calm attitude while remaining vigilant. To that end, I was encouraged to share some tips with other allergic friends via a blog: shmallergy.wordpress.com

I would love to hear from more individuals and families living with food allergies.

[anjali jan3]

01:36 AM on 01/11/2011

food allergy is most common problem with us, like hives allergy..
http://www.hives-treatment.com/Food-allergy-hives.html

[marcoozy]

10:58 AM on 01/10/2011

i was thinking of developing a gluten intolerance. it very "in" nowadays.

[jsr4u]

07:29 AM on 01/10/2011

Nice post! But i nevertheless, we can do even more to stop many allergies... My partner and I have indeed even decided to go a step further, and explained in a recent post why we have decided to stop buying food from supermarkets altogether… (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2011/01/why-weve-decided-to-stop-buying-food-from-supermarkets/) It will probably sound weird for most, but to us, it just makes sense!…

jsr

[Susan Weissman]

02:29 PM on 01/09/2011

In all fairness - I think that the flaw in this article is in the title. Having tackled the subject of food allergies myself I find that there are Far too many "questions and answers" to address in a single article and in trying to do so, readers are left unsatisfied.

[sabelmouse]

07:23 AM on 01/09/2011

check out your liver. a problem with liverfunction can lead to allergic reaction to anything.
my spice alergy disapeared after taking care of my liver .

[paerki]

05:42 AM on 01/09/2011

Being a celiac has made me a mindful eater. I see gluten intolerance as an allergy too because of how my body has responded to gluten and how my symptoms manifest after it's consumption. Regardless, food sensitivities is serious stuff and can be nightmarish. Swelling is just frightening!

I'm thankful more and more people are discussing allergies like never before. Things are getting better, but packaging is still not where it needs to be. Talk about misleading. Ugh!

http://aceliaconthemove.blogspot.com

[yetiwatcher]

10:48 PM on 01/08/2011

some additional information on the state of testing and medical science in the area of food allergies:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/health/research/12allergies.html?scp=3&sq=allergies&st=nyt

[Last Gasp]

09:48 PM on 01/08/2011

Not a word about leaky gut or candidiasis. Lame.

[yetiwatcher]

10:40 PM on 01/08/2011

the latter is a fungal infection and not an allergic reaction so why would you expect it to be discussed here?

[Lisa Shields]

05:49 PM on 01/08/2011

Would someone PLEASE make note of the face that almost any food, including soy can result in an allergic reaction, or intolerance? I have relatives who have run the gamut with food allergies, who took deep offense when I could not digest soy. While I would not think of "slipping" something into someone's food, they occasionally fed me soy...even after I indicated that it was a problem for me.

I've been told that "no one is allergic" to soy.

Sorry...but some of us are.

[cleverindie]

07:29 PM on 01/08/2011

I'm horrified that your family would feed you soy on purpose. The same thing happened to me over the winter holidays, though it wasn't intentional- it was just absentmindedness.

My son and I have G6PD Deficiency and we avoid all legumes (as well as various medications and chemicals)- soy is the most problematic for us. G6PD Deficiency is not considered an allergy, but we avoid these things in the same way as the results may not be immediate or visible, but exposure to some substances (soy, for example) can cause hemolytic anemia and cause jaundice. The old school of thought was that "broad beans" were the only problem and that only men were impacted because of the hereditary nature of the disorder. The reality is that many women spend their lives not being diagnosed despite obvious signs.

I think the medical community separates folks into grades- ie intolerance, allergy, etc... with the intention of a broad clarification of response to an allergen, but it seems rather outdated and ignores some of the not-immediately apparent physical responses as though- if the reaction doesn't happen in x number of minutes than it isn't an allergy. However, with food "intolerance" the reaction can take longer to present just because of the nature of digestion.

When discussing our dietary restrictions with any lay person (esp school personnel) I explain it as an allergy, as "intolerance" is indeed not treated with the caution and respect it deserves.

[Lisa Shields]

07:41 PM on 01/08/2011

I hear you.

I also have developed an allergy to Aleve,,,naproxsyn. When I took it last year, I suddenly had trouble breathing, my heart raced, and my skin went tight red and itchy all over. Turns out I am allergic to the clam shell binder they use...but a nurse recently told me my reaction wasn't "really an allergy".

Anything that send you to the ER is worth respecting, in my opinion!

Good luck to you!

[cleverindie]

07:31 PM on 01/08/2011

Also wanted to share this link to the article on G6PD Deficiency... Just in case it helps someone else... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-amster/the-most-common-disease-y_b_241635.html

[drvittoriarepetto]

03:37 PM on 01/08/2011

opps that should be tested by via IgG

[drvittoriarepetto]

03:36 PM on 01/08/2011

Food intolerances need to be treated via IgG..more vague symptoms than allergies http://tinyurl.com/2g7suzz

[HypnoChick]

03:32 PM on 01/08/2011

By the way, from all the research I've done (a lot!), Enterolab stool testing seems to be the best way to find out for sure if you're intolerant/allergic to gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and yeast. Blood tests, especially for gluten, very frequently give false negatives as they did for me. If it weren't for Enterolab, I'd still be eating gluten and soy and doing a lot of damage to the tissues of my body.

[HypnoChick]

03:28 PM on 01/08/2011

This article is total BS. Fatigue and digestive issues can definitely be common signs of food allergies, for one. And I don't buy the hygiene hypothesis as the cause of food allergies becoming more prevalent. I think rampant leaky gut syndrome due to stress, junk foods and toxins is a lot more likely. Leaky gut, celiac, multiple food intolerances and an autoimmune disorder are what I'm going through right now and a number of people I know, along with tons of people I've met through support groups online, are going through the same thing.

[No death panels]

01:02 AM on 01/09/2011

Sounds like you're seeing a homeopath...?

[HypnoChick]

04:17 PM on 01/09/2011

A nutritional chiropractor. And he's been 100 times more helpful to me than any of the MDs I went to.

[seehowtheyrun]

01:41 PM on 01/08/2011

Terrible article. For example, Celiac disease IS also known as gluten intolerance. Very different from a food allergy.

[Fred Butters]

02:20 PM on 01/08/2011

I lost you. Where does it say Celiac disease or gluten intolerance is an allergy?

[seehowtheyrun]

04:44 PM on 01/08/2011

It says gluten intolerance is a food allergy:

Can unexplained weight gain, digestive problems, or fatigue be symptoms of food allergies?
No. Food allergies are usually associated with itching, rashes, hives, or, in severe cases, swelling of the mouth and tongue, difficulty breathing, or low blood pressure. Digestive problems, fatigue, or weight gain are not symptoms of food allergies.

People with these symptoms may have lactose or gluten intolerance (an intolerance is a digestive response, not an immune response)

Celiac disease which IS known as gluten intolerance IS an auto immune disorder.

[seehowtheyrun]

04:50 PM on 01/08/2011

I think I misunderstood a paragraph. However, the article is still incorrect as Celiac Disease is indeed known as gluten intolerance and reaction to gluten intolerance in Celiacs are indeed immune responses.