The first question that pops up in our heads is how exactly can I be allergic to various types of food? The answer is pretty simple. Some people lack the right digestive cells or immunity for certain foods. This is something that your allergist doctor may also tell you.

Now the antibodies in our body suddenly think “Oh! Time to cause a reaction!” because at that point in time, all that the body thinks about are the protective measures. After all, it considers the food that you are allergic to, as an external threat to the body.

What causes the itching i.e. the inflammation? The body starts producing a chemical called ‘histamine’ which is responsible for making the body itch a lot. Which is why you would notice that allergy medications are commonly referred to as ‘antihistamines’.

Most Common Food Allergies

There are a wide number of food allergies that exist out there. In this article, we aim to highlight the 4 most common of these. These include:

Nut Allergy

Very common in about 1% of the US population. The first kind of allergy is the one where the nuts in question come from a tree. For example, pine, walnut, cashews, pistachios, almonds, macadamia and Brazil nuts etc.

All these nuts are fairly common in households but also common in spreading allergies.

Apart from the above, peanut allergies are also very prominent. About 4-8% of children and 1-2% of adults develop peanut allergies but for some percentage of those children, the allergies ease into their teens.

All types of food that include these nuts should be avoided at all costs because nut allergies are the most common cause of anaphylaxis-related deaths. About 50% result from this.

Wheat Allergy

The second one to make it on our list is wheat. It is generally a cause of distress in the immune system. This ultimately causes rashes, hives and leaving the skin overly sensitive. Wheat is also the cause of celiac disease which affects children in their early ages and sometimes goes away with age.

Gluten, a major component in almost all baked goods is a source of danger for people with a wheat allergy.

Avoid all sorts of gluten products and always opt for gluten free to keep your allergies from surfacing and could sometimes cause a reaction that could be fatal.

Fish Allergy

Fish allergies although not entirely common, do affect 2% of the adult population of the US.

This allergy does not normally surface at a young age because most allergies besides the nuts are developed later in life, with a 40% chance of developing as you move to adulthood.

Fish although a staple for many people is now considered an allergen. An allergen is another that can cause an allergic reaction. For instance, children who play a lot of sports outdoors often have their systems interact during peak season. In the case of a pollen allergy, their allergy symptoms will flare up!

Shellfish is one of the types of fishes that can cause allergic reactions in people. It all boils down to the proteins the body is unable to digest, hence triggering the reaction.

Shellfish carries the same proteins that the body is unable to breakdown. While some people can be allergic to shellfish, they might not be allergic to other kinds of fish.

Egg Allergy

This might come off as a little strange but about 68% of children experience an allergic reaction to eggs in their early years but later outgrown them.

Like most allergies, eggs also tend to cause digestive discomfort, skin reactions and even anaphylaxis very rarely, of course.

Important tip

Find an allergist specialist Manassas if you experience any of the above mentioned food allergies. A specialist will be able to diagnose your condition better. In all cases, avoid diagnosing yourself based on the list of symptoms that you find on Google.