Food Allergies: Do You Have One?

Do you ever wonder if you're allergic to a particular food? How can you tell, and what can you do? The answers to these questions are not easy, nor are they cut and dried. Let's talk a bit more about food allergies and give you some hints to figure out the solution to your own particular situation.

First, it's estimated that true food allergies affect less than 2 percent of the United States population. Yet surveys have shown that up to 40 percent of us believe that we or a member of our household has a food allergy. Children tend to have the highest prevalence of food allergies, yet only 5 percent of children are actually diagnosed, and most outgrow their particular allergy.

So why all the fuss?

TRUE FOOD ALLERGIES

A true food allergy can be fatal. Most of these reactions are caused by milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy products, wheat, peanuts and other tree nuts. When the offending food is eaten, the body's immune system responds by releasing histamine and other substances that cause the allergic reaction. Symptoms vary, but can include nausea, cramping, diarrhea, rashes and hives, and anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis can result in shock, respiratory failure and death. It can be treated with an injection of epinephrine, but always needs immediate follow-up at an emergency room.

Only a small percentage of people with food allergies develop anaphylaxis, but for them it is vitally important to avoid the offending food completely. Some people are not only sensitive to eating the food in any form, but also to the smell of the food or touching it to their skin. Most fatalities occur when people who are away from home accidentally eat a food to which they are allergic.

FOOD INTOLERANCES

Since only a small number of people have actual food allergies, what about the rest of us who say we are allergic to foods? Usually it's actually a food intolerance, not an allergy. Individuals who experience diarrhea and bloating after drinking milk probably have a lactose intolerance, where their body does not digest the sugar in milk (lactose) in the normal method. The immune system isn't involved, and death is not a real possibility. Often small amounts of dairy products can be well-tolerated. Someone who is allergic to milk protein has to avoid all forms of dairy products completely, even in minute amounts.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY

What can you do if you suspect a food intolerance or allergy? If you have a family history of asthma and food allergies, definitely consult a physician skilled in treating allergies. It could quite possibly be the fatal type, and it's too dangerous to try to treat on your own. If you suspect the more likely food intolerance, follow these steps:

Keep a food diary. Write down every food and beverage you consume, even things like gum and breath mints. Keep the labels from every food to compare ingredients. Be meticulous about noting the amounts you eat and any symptoms (such as bloating, hives, diarrhea) you experience. Keep this record for at least one week. You're looking for associations between foods, or ingredients in foods, and symptoms. Remember that not all symptoms are immediate; you may have to look back earlier in the day, or even to the previous day. Some symptoms are dose-related, meaning that x cup of milk with breakfast cereal may be fine, but if you also drink milk with all meals, you may run into trouble.

Emotions can also play a role, so try to write down how you're feeling. Stress will often aggravate a food allergy. If you're on vacation and having a carefree time, you might be able to eat chocolate without experiencing a skin rash. However, if you have chocolate at work when deadlines are looming and a day off seems like an impossibility, you will probably also have a rash to deal with. If you're keeping food records for a child, ask for help from teachers, child-care workers and anyone else who comes into contact with him or her. You may notice more symptoms when your child is in school as opposed to weekends or vacations.
Try eliminating suspect foods and continue your diary. Once you have one or two suspect foods in mind, try eliminating them from your diet. If you eliminate the offending food for two to three weeks and your symptoms improve, you've figured it out on the first try. If you try eliminating the foods without a reduction in symptoms, you might not have been specific enough in your food diary, or you might have picked the wrong food to eliminate. Either way, at this point it's best to enlist the help of a health professional.
Contact a health professional such as a registered dietitian or physician skilled in food allergy management to discuss your findings from the food diary. You want to make sure that if you eliminate certain foods, you obtain those lost nutrients in other parts of your diet. Eliminating milk may seem fine, but you need to replace the protein, calcium and Vitamin D. Not all milk substitutes contain comparable amounts of these nutrients, so it's often not as easy as just drinking rice milk in place of cow's milk. If you can't figure out which foods cause problems, a nutrition professional can help you figure it out. There are also other types of tests that can be done to diagnose a food allergy, usually involving skin or blood tests.
After you have a diagnosis, contact a support group. Start by visiting the Cooking for Allergies message board here at the Health & Well-Being channel. Here you can meet other women, talking and sharing about food allergies. You can also check out the The Food Allergy Network which provides education, emotional support and coping strategies to people with food allergies. By learning all you can, you'll possess a broader range of foods you'll feel comfortable eating.