A food sensitivity is an adverse reaction to a food that other people can safely eat, and includes food allergies, food intolerances, and chemical sensitivities.
Food allergies are sensitivities caused by a reaction of the body's immune system to specific proteins in a food. Current estimates are that food allergies affect as many as 6% of young children and 3% to 4% of adults.
In allergic individuals, a food protein is mistakenly identified by the immune system as being harmful. The first time the individual is exposed to such a protein, the body's immune system responds by creating antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). When the individual is exposed again to the same food protein, IgE antibodies and chemicals such as histamine are released.Histamine is a powerful chemical that can cause a reaction in the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin or cardiovascular system. In the most extreme cases, food allergies can be fatal. Although any food can provoke an immune response in allergic individuals, a few foods are responsible for the majority of food allergies.
Early Introduction: Don’t just focus on peanut, milk and egg
Among children with food allergy, up to 40 per cent are allergic to multiple foods. While introducing potentially allergenic foods in early infancy has proven effective at preventing the development of food allergies in childhood, research shows this strategy is allergen-specific. A year-long pilot study has looked at the safety and efficacy of various combinations of foods introduced in infancy.
Most adults with food allergy don’t follow doctor’s orders
In the world’s first known study of its kind, most adults diagnosed with food allergy were found to not follow the dietary advice they had been given by a health professional. Several underlying reasons were found, offering health professionals an insight into what more they should consider when giving advice and guidance about allergy-related dietary restrictions.
After testing positive to a food challenge, adult patients participating in the study were given dietary advice based on sensitivity and severity of symptoms and their personal history. Dietary advice given fell into one of three options: