Category: General Food Recipes

Common Food Allergy: Effectively Managing Food Allergies

It is a fact that you have to eat food everyday in order to give your body the nourishment it needs in order for it to function on its daily tasks. Obviously, food is what fuels your body to go on living. However, there are cases where food can also cause illness that you have to avoid.

Today, there are cases where people are allergic to certain kinds of food. In order to properly manage it, you have to consider that you will need to be aware of the food that you are allergic from and also to avoid food that contains certain kinds of allergens that your body will react to.

It is very important that you should know how to effectively manage your diet especially if you are allergic to certain kinds of food as allergy attacks can be very uncomfortable and can affect the normal functions in your daily life. In severe cases, allergy attacks may need you to be hospitalized as it can cause swelling in your air passages that will not allow you get any oxygen in your lungs and suffocate to death.

First of all, allergy attacks are triggered by the allergens found in allergen-containing foods. Normally, these allergens are considered to be harmless. However, once it enters the body of a person with allergic reaction to specific allergens, the immune system overreacts and tries to destroy the foreign object that made its way to the body. During this process, the body reacts by showing signs of swelling to different parts of the body, skin rashes, redness and increase in temperature, itching, shortness of breath and wheezing,

As you can see, allergic reactions of your body can be very uncomfortable and will severely affect your daily activities. This is why you have to be aware of the foods you eat and know what kind of food you are allergic from.

Usually, the most common food allergies that the body reacts to are peanuts, shellfish, milk, fish, wheat and soy. If you are not sure what food allergens you are allergic to, you have to visit your physician or an allergist. They will give you a series of tests that will enable you to identify what kind of food you are allergic from. With this kind of information, you will be able to manage your allergy effectively and prevent any future attacks.

Here are some ways you can prevent allergy attacks. Firstly and obviously, you have to avoid foods that contain food allergens that your body reacts to. This means that you should never eat food that you are allergic to and never cook food with an ingredient that contains the food allergens.

If you are out dining in a restaurant, you should inform the waiter or waitress about your food allergy and ask him or her which food contains the food allergen you are allergic from. If you really want to eat foods that contain the allergens, you have to inform the waiter or waitress to not include the ingredient (milk, peanuts, tree nuts, egg) that you are allergic from.

If you accidentally ingested the food-containing allergen, it is very important that you should immediately take anti-histamine medications. This is why you have to take anti-histamine medication wherever you go in case you accidentally ate food that contains an ingredient that you are allergic from.

These are some of the common food allergens that you should know about in order to properly manage it and minimize the risk of future allergy attacks that can lead to severe discomfort and in severe cases, death.

Child Food Allergy: How to Effectively Manage It

As a parent, it is very important for your child to have everything. You would want everything to be the best for your child and this is why most parents work very hard in order to give their children their needs and their wants. You work hard in order to give your child the best possible living conditions, nutritious and delicious foods, enroll them to the best schools, and you also want them to have the best toys that they can play with.

As you can see, it is quite natural for you as a parent to want the best in everything for your child in order for them to grow up healthy as well as happy. However, there comes a time where your child gets sick. Today, there are numerous cases of child food allergy that can severely affect your child’s way of life.

With a child food allergy, you have to take care and closely monitor what your child eats. Because they still dont have an idea about what foods they can eat and what foods they cannot eat, it is very necessary that you should always keep an eye out for your child. However, if they are now going to school, you have to consider that their classmates may eat food that their child is allergic from. You have to realize the fact that your children just might want to taste it. And, with you at the office, working very hard for your child, you can’t always keep an eye out for your child and tell them that they can’t eat the food.

First of all, allergies are triggered by histamines. Although histamines are normally found in animal dander, and in pollens, it can also be found in certain foods. In fact, some people are allergic to a lot of foods that they have to know what they are eating. You also have to know how allergies work in order to fully understand how you can manage it. Allergies are triggered when your child ingests histamine. Histamines are normally considered to be harmless in the human body, however, when a person is allergic to it, the white blood cells or the immune systems overreacts and attacks the histamine. This also triggers the body to experience sneezing, runny nose, and swelling in different parts of the body. This is considered to be your body’s self defense when they encounter an alien object in your body.

There are severe cases of allergies that some children experiences that can really affect their life. In some cases of allergy attacks, you may need to take your child to the hospital. This is why it is very important that you should identify what kind of food is allergic from.

Usually, child food allergy is triggered by histamines in peanuts and in shellfish. Although they may develop allergy to other kinds of food, peanuts and shellfish are the main triggers of allergies.

It is also a great way to keep track of their diet in order for you to identify the causes of allergy attacks in your child. However, it is best that you should consult their pediatrician where they will perform a series of tests that can be used to identify what kind of allergens triggers your child’s allergy attacks. To do this, your pediatrician will do a series of lab examination that will include skin tests to determine the causes of the allergy.

By doing this and by knowing about what kind of food your child is allergic to, you will be able to manage the food they eat and give them a more normal life to live.

Your Cat and Food Allergy

Dogs and cats are affected by food allergies. Having a pet cat has its rewards and you get to have a companion when you’re all alone in your house. But did you know that even if your feline companion is just 5 months old, it can already have a food allergy? However, majority of cats exhibit symptoms of an allergy between 2 to 6 years old. Those cats that have food allergies have contact allergies or concurrent inhalant.

Oftentimes, pet owners confuse a food allergy from food intolerance. The first one is the true allergy wherein symptoms of skin problems and itching are associated with cat allergies. The latter is a result of diarrhea or vomiting and doesnt create an allergic response. The one thing that is common among the two is that both conditions can be removed with a carefully planned diet that is free from allergy agents.

Among cats, the most common types of food that cause an allergic reaction are dairy products, beef, and fish. The offenders are also the common ingredient in their foods. The correlation is not considered a coincidence. There are proteins that are antigenic than other proteins. The food proteins are usually similar and the occurrence of allergic responses can be associated with exposure.

The major symptom if your cat has a food allergy is an itchy skin. It can also include excessive scratching, miliary dermatitis, and hair loss. If you purely base your evaluation from physical signs, then you can’t distinguish if your cat has food allergy, or if your cat has Atopy and other allergies.

If at the beginning of winter your cat is having an allergic reaction, or if it happens all year-round, then your cat might be suffering from food allergy. If the itchy skin felt by your cat doesnt respond to steroid treatments and antihistamines, then this is another confirmation that your cat is suffering from an allergy.

Prior to obtaining a food allergy diagnosis, your cat’s other health problems must be identified and treated. This includes Atopy, parasite hypersensitivities, allergies with flea bites, bacterial or yeast infections, seborrhea, and other problems. If all those problems are resolved and your cat still exhibits symptoms, then you should start with a food trial.

Your cat’s food trial should consist of novel food and carbohydrate that will last for about 12 weeks. You can avail of the diet commercially, or you can also have it homemade. Dont give your cats treats during the trial period. Just make sure that it is still a well-balanced diet so that your cat won’t get sick.

If you observe elimination or marked reduction of the symptoms, then you should do provocative testing, which means that you give the original food back. This is essential to prove or confirm your diagnosis. If the symptoms go back after eating the original food, then your diagnosis is confirmed. Your cat truly has food allergy.

After such confirmation, you have two choices. You can either feed your cat a homemade diet or a commercial diet. If you choose the first option, you can challenge your cat with other ingredients that doesnt cause allergic reactions. Make sure that you give the right amount of food ingredients. The second option requires you to purchase every now and then and an added cost.

Whatever you choose, it’s for your cat’s well-being.

Managing Your Child’s Food Allergies Effectively

Allergy is one of the most common diseases existing in society today. There are millions of people suffering from allergies and about 6 percent of the population suffering from allergy is children and infants. You have to consider that this kind of disease can affect anyone at anytime. Once your immune system overreacts to a foreign object that is usually harmless and releases histamines, allergy symptoms can occur.

You have to consider that as a parent, your baby is one of the most important persons in the world. You feed them, you give them clothes and you provide them with shelter and care. This is why you should be aware if your baby has food allergies as it can cause severe discomfort to them and in severe cases, it can cause death.

As a parent, you have to be aware of your child’s health and because allergies are very common nowadays, you have to take the necessary measures in order to properly manage it and prevent your child from experiencing discomfort because of allergy attacks. Some foods are the main causes of allergies. If you are giving your child solid foods for the first time, you have to be absolutely certain that the food you are giving them will not cause an allergic reaction.

First of all, you have to know how allergy works in order for you to properly manage it and detect it as early as possible in order for you to manage it properly. When your child ate food that his or her body is allergic to, the body will first produce antibodies called IgE. After your child ingested the same food again, the IgE will tell the immune system to produce histamines to fight of the allergens. You have to consider that the allergens are usually harmless but the immune system of your child will mistake it as being harmful and attacks it. Because of the attack on the invader, the body will produce signs and symptoms of allergy after a few minutes of ingesting the food or after about two hours of ingesting the food.

The symptoms of allergy can be mild or severe. On the mild symptoms, your child will experience mild discomfort as swelling of the skin, mouth, ears and tongue. You will also see rashes on the skin that can be itchy. The child may also experience difficulty in breathing as well. In severe cases, your baby may vomit or can have diarrhea. It is very important for you to know that severe allergic reaction can be life threatening.

If a member of your family is allergic to specific kinds of food, your child may also inherit the allergy. Although there are cases where your child can eat the food with no problem at all, you will soon notice that your baby may develop the signs and symptoms after a few times of eating the same food. Here are some of the foods that your child may likely develop allergies to:

Fish
Peanuts
Tree nuts
Shellfish
Eggs
Milk

If your baby is showing signs and symptoms of allergy, you should immediately call your local emergency number as soon as you notice the signs and symptoms. You have to consider the fact that this situation can be life threatening and can cause severe discomfort for your child.

Always remember that early detection leads to proper management and care. The baby’s pediatrician will prepare an action plan for properly managing the allergy attack and will also provide medications to treat allergies.

Food Allergy and Asthma

There have been a lot of studies about food allergy that involves patients having asthma. You can easily see the symptoms after a couple of hours after eating a certain kind of food. Asthma and eczema are associated with atopic patients with allergies in food.
Atopy has three manifestations including asthma. It is an allergy pattern unknown to most patients. It is usually associated with disorders such as hay fever and eczema. Food allergy causes delayed or immediate asthma patterns. The delayed pattern can bring about bronchitis and/or chronic asthma. The immediate reactions are life threatening, dramatic, and sudden that is a consequence of an anaphylactic reaction to food.

Asthma basic ideas, causes, treatment:

– asthma is considered an allergy unless proven otherwise
– allergies come from food sources and airborne
– solve asthma through diet revision and improved air quality

There are three basic choices for the treatment of asthma including removing the cause, treating the symptoms, and altering the patient to tolerate such causes.

Oftentimes, asthma is known as an allergy that’s airborne, and food allergy is greatly neglected. Most doctors overlook this fact and despite the improvements with drug therapies, asthma is a leading cause of death. Most of the skin tests conducted to patients with asthma are negative, and the symptoms dont appear immediately. For some, it can take hours or even days.

How does this happen? If the person eats a type of food that he or she is allergic to, the food allergens are then incorporated into the bloodstream and it triggers the immune mediators’ release. These chemicals can cause different symptoms like bronchial muscle constriction; and this is an episode of an asthma attack. You will slowly feel the reduction of airflow in your bronchial tubes. You’re already having a noisy and prolonged expiration. This obstructive, inflammatory phase is an important mechanism associated with chronic asthma.

Patients with food allergy are usually given antibiotics over and over again because the infection and allergic symptoms are very similar. But the truth is antibiotics can actually increase your risk of advance allergic reactions. There have been reports about patients with long-standing deterioration after prolonged or repeated antibiotic use. This is one of the reasons why many asthmatic patients are quite hesitant to undergo medication.

Here’s good news to asthma sufferers, with a complete revision in your diet, you can remove the chronic symptoms. You must have a broad management plan that includes solving your food allergy, toxicity, airborne allergy, and providing appropriate medication when certain preventive efforts are unsuccessful.

There are specialized doctors that can help you with your diet plan. If your asthma is indeed caused by certain food allergies, your doctor can help you in identifying which foods you’re allergic to. Once the foods are identified, your doctor can now recommend a new diet plan that is designed to stay away from certain foods. This may take time and you need to visit your doctor periodically. But the results are quite effective according to come patients.

If you’re not that sure, you can do a valuable research online and check if the there are doctors in your place that can help you with your food allergy. You can also ask your friends and co-workers if they know a reputable doctor who can help you out.

Dont start any treatment or diet without proper diagnosis and approval of your doctor to avoid any complications.