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Easy Guidelines on Fighting Food Allergy through Allergens-Free Diet

Some people are not aware that they have food allergy. It can be difficult to diagnose especially if allergic reactions are not apparent before. Symptoms of food allergy only appear if you exceed the tolerable amount of foods you are allergic to.

Food allergy lets your body react as if some foods are harmful. The immune system of the body then creates antibodies for fighting back food allergens which triggers the food allergy. Once the person eats the food, touches the food, or even inhales its particles, chemicals including histamine are released by the body to protect it from allergens. Allergic symptoms can affect your cardiovascular system, skin, gastrointestinal tract, or respiratory system. Food allergy symptoms are characterized by wheezing, abdominal pain, swelling, itchiness in the throat, tongue, or lips, itchy skin rashes, and runny nose.

Food allergies need to follow special diets. These diets do not contain food allergens as much as possible. It is advised to consult your doctor or dietitian especially if you want to eliminate some types of food from your original diet or begin a specialized diet. It is because you might need some adjustments on the new meal plan or replace any lost nutrients by taking nutritional supplements.

1. Milk allergy diets. You need to eliminate milk and dairy products containing milk. These are good sources of Vitamin D and calcium. So it is necessary to replace it with other kinds of food such as soy products, spinach, and broccoli, also enriched with these nutrients. The labeled ingredients of the products must be always checked. You can also use almond, rice, or soy milk, instead of cow’s milk. Non-dairy goods which include some margarines, cheese, yogurt, chocolate, and ice cream.

2. Egg allergy diets. Young children, adults, and infants are more prone to egg allergies. Elimination of eggs and other products with egg contents is needed. Also check labels carefully because some egg alternatives has egg white contents.

3. Peanut allergy diets. Peanut allergies are one of the most fatal and are potentially serious among all types of food allergies. It contains food allergens most common for triggering allergic reactions. Most commercial foods such as ethnic foods, candy, and baked foods contain peanuts, especially if prepared only by one manufacturer.

4. Tree nuts allergy diets. All products with tree nuts ingredients must be totally avoided even though only one nut triggers your allergic reactions. Some shampoos and lotions also contain tree nuts. Carefully check the product labels.

5. Fish allergy diet. Fish have different species but contains similar proteins. You need to eliminate all kinds of fish from your diet, except if your allergist has already determined the specie that triggers your food allergy. It is also advisable not to visit seafood restaurants.

6. Shellfish allergy diets. Shellfish have different species but contains similar proteins. You need to eliminate all kinds of shellfish from your diet, except if your allergist has already determined the specie that triggers your food allergy.

7. Soy allergy diets. Soybeans are considered legumes which include kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, string beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, peanuts, carob, licorice, and lentils. This is widely used for processing foods, so make sure to avoid such products.

8. Wheat allergy diets. Wheat proteins are called gluten and wheat made foods are considered as American diet staples, which you need to avoid. Read the labels of the products carefully.

Never forget these diet guidelines to fight food allergies successfully. After all nothing beats caution and preparedness.

At War With Food: The Cause of Food Allergy

An allergy takes place when the immune system suddenly has an abnormal response to a certain material that is usually not detrimental to most individuals except those who have allergies. When an allergy is triggered by a substance or allergen, a persons body recognizes this as a trespasser and subsequently releases chemicals to fight off the trespasser causing symptoms that can range from a simple irritation to a fatal reaction that may even lead to death.

Food allergy is a reaction made by the immune system in which antibodies are produced by the body as a result of a negative effect to some foods. Though there are many individuals who claim that they have food allergies, there are only a few who really have certain allergic reactions to food. Most people confuse food allergy with food intolerance. Food intolerance and food allergy are both sensitivity reactions to food, but intolerance to certain types of food does not affect the immune system and isnt really a life threatening incident.

As of the present time, the medical world still has not found any cure for food allergies. Allergy management only involves the prevention of intake of food allergens and some diet modifications.

Looking closely, during an allergic reaction, the bodys immune system releases antibodies, specifically immunoglobulin E. It subsequently causes the production of chemicals like histamine in the process of protecting the body. Now, these chemicals are the root cause of symptoms which may include an irritation in the eyes, skin, throat, lungs, and the gastrointestinal organs. These takes place whenever the individual is exposed to the allergen.

Although any type of food can cause allergic reactions to different types of individuals, there are eight major foods out there that are often the main culprits of an allergic reaction. These eight major allergy-causing foods are: fish, soy, milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish.

By and large, individuals afflicted with allergies react only to some allergy-causing foods. Sometimes, allergy to a certain type of food may also cause allergic reaction to foods that may be related with the allergen food. This incidence is known as cross-reaction. For instance, an allergic reaction to wheat may also cause a reaction to rye. Allergy to pollens subsequently causes an allergy to green apples, hazelnuts, almonds, and peaches. A reaction to goats milk may also be associated with an allergy to cows milk. And the list goes on and on.

Moreover, individuals who have been afflicted with asthma and/or eczema may also be at risk of developing a food allergy. With bad luck, they would probably have a reaction that is more severe than those people who only have food allergy to worry about. This is due to the fact that when an allergy takes place the person will be under stress which then may lead to triggering their asthma and/or eczema which will aggravate the situation.

But the intensity of the reaction will depend on some circumstances like the individuals sensitivity threshold to the food allergen, amount of eaten food, and the exposure scale the person has to the food.

Although, there is no cure to allergies, self-discipline and vigilance will help you, the allergy-sufferer, overcome these food problems. There may be some medications out there that alleviate the symptoms but a consultation to the physician will give you a better understanding to your allergy problems as well as treatment recommendations.

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.

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.

Your Hidden Food Allergy or Allergies are Making You Fat

Your Hidden Food Allergy or Allergies are Making You Fat

Was there an instance when you ate something like an ice cream, cake, cheese, or a piece of fruit and you felt even hungrier? Have you experienced any food urges wherein you can’t satisfy such cravings except eating the same food?

If your answer to the questions above is ‘yes’, then you have food allergies and you’re probably fat by now. Food allergy can make you fat, and that is already a proven fact.

Allergic people crave for foods that they’re allergic to and this is caused by food sensitivities. Take note of drug addicts that exhibit withdrawal symptoms. The same thing also happens to people with food allergies; when they are not able to eat certain foods, they experience discomfort.

A number of obese individuals can attest to the irresistible power of their food allergy. Compulsive eaters are craving and continuously eating allergenic foods that they’re addicted to every day. They have no idea that their eating habits and food cravings have something to do with a physiological need. The withdrawal symptoms should be stopped.

Specialized doctors who diagnose and treat allergies are now accepting the simultaneous phenomenon of addiction and allergy to both chemicals and food. These doctors are called clinical ecologists, and they greatly believe that almost all persistent health problems like depression, migraine, arthritis, and fatigue are all caused by chemicals and food allergies. A great number of people are affected by food allergies even in the industrialized countries.

The same kind of food can actually cause dissimilar reactions among people. The genetic predisposition of each individual is said to be the determining factor if the person is vulnerable to such condition.

When a person has edema and/or vasculitis, the body organ that is targeted are blood vessels. If you constantly eat the food to which you’re allergic at. Edema or water retention is a very common condition among individuals with food allergies, and this is one factor that contributes to obesity. If you quit intake of the food that you’re allergic to, you can lose an approximate of 10 pounds in just a week and without using any diuretic.

Fat persons can lose weight without undergoing any diet plan. Food sensitivities cause your body to keep hold of fats and water, and if you remove these foods, your body will not hold excess water or fat. Therefore, you can lose weight already. You can seek professional help so that you can be provided with a diet that’s low in allergen. Many doctors believe that losing weight has nothing to do with the calories in your diet.

The brain’s limbic portion is affected by food sensitivity probably because this is known as the control center. All your emotions, memory functions, vegetative functions, body temperature, blood pressure, sexuality, sleep, thirst, and hunger are controlled by this portion. There have been conclusive studies showing that the vital functions are greatly affected by your food allergies.

According to a neurophysiologic analysis, allergenic foods can trigger opioid enkephalin in the brain. The body produces this narcotic, and if you frequently eat allergenic foods, the narcotic will increase or rise.

Major food allergens include coffee, wheat, dairy products, corn, and eggs. Before, medical doctors ignore food allergies because there is no specific drug that can be used to treat such condition. Most of today’s doctors rely on certain supplements and avoidance of such allergenic foods.