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Published on Thursday, 07 October 2010 20:33

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John Riddle

Each year, millions of Americans have allergic reaction to food. Although most food allergies cause relatively mild symptoms, some food allergies can cause severe reactions, and may even be life-threatening.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates of the prevalence of food allergies range from approximately 4% to 8% of children and about 2% of adults. Though reasons for this are poorly understood, the prevalence of food allergies and associated anaphylaxis appears to be on the rise. Risk factors associated with food allergy include: family history of asthma and allergies, genetic predisposition to allergic disease, elevated allergen-specific serum immunoglobulin levels, and being younger than 3 years of age.

“The number of people with food allergies has increased dramatically in the past two decades,” said Christine Szychlinski, a nurse and manager of the Bunning Food Allergy Program at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “Although hard numbers are difficult to obtain, we do have one telephone survey which showed that the number of respondents with peanut allergy doubled over a 5 year period in the 1990s,” she said.

There are eight foods that account for 90% of all food-allergy reactions in the U.S.: cow’s milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts (for example, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and cashews), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. While 3.3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, 6.9 million are allergic to seafood. Combined, food allergies cause 30,000 cases of anaphylaxis, 2,000 hospitalizations, and approximately 150 deaths annually.

Here is a breakdown of the top 8 food allergens:

Milk – A milk allergy is a potentially deadly allergic reaction to one or more dairy proteins and are most common in young children, who usually develop the condition within the first six months of life. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, studies have shown that 2% to 5% of children develop a milk allergy in the first year of life. Milk allergies are twice as common as egg allergies and three times as common as peanut allergies.

Eggs – Many children develop an allergy to eggs, but often outgrow it. If you are allergic to eggs, be sure to check labels of food products for the following ingredients: "egg," "egg white," "dried egg" or "albumin."

Peanuts – Peanuts can be found in many foods and candies, especially chocolate candy. Check all labels carefully. Once considered a lifelong allergy, recent studies indicate that up to 20% of children diagnosed with peanut allergy outgrow it. However, for people who do not out grow the allergy, their sensitivity and the severity of their reactions tends to worsen over time. Peanuts can cause severe allergic reactions. If prescribed, carry epinephrine at all times.

Tree nuts – These include peanuts that have been de-flavored and re-flavored with a nut, such as pecan or walnut. For example, mandelonas are peanuts soaked in almond flavoring. Tree nuts have been used in many foods, including barbecue sauce, cereals, crackers, and ice cream. Tree nuts can cause severe allergic reactions. If your doctor has prescribed epinephrine, be sure to always carry it with you.

Fish – Some people with fish allergies have reactions to more common edible “scaly” and “bony” fish, such as cod, haddock, herring, sprat, halibut, mackerel, trout and salmon. If you have any type of seafood allergy, it can be life-threatening, so you need to be aware of anything that is made with fish.

Shellfish – These are divided into two basic categories: “Molluscks,” include Abalone, oysters, mussels, and squid (Calamari); and “Crustaceans,” include lobsters, crayfish, prawns, crabs and shrimp.

Soy – Because soybeans are a major part of most processed foods, avoiding anything made with soybeans can prove very difficult. If you try and eliminate all foods that have soybeans and byproducts, you may find yourself eating an unbalanced diet. Consult with your physician or a dietician for advice.

Wheat – Wheat contains several types of protein that can activate the immune system in people who have allergic action against wheat. If you have wheat allergy, check labels to be sure that even small amounts of wheat are not present in the list of ingredients. In the ingredients, look for : "wheat," "flour," "wheat germ," "wheat starch," "bran," "modified food starch," "graham flour," "farina,"

Reference: www.healthcentral.com