The number of people with food allergies is increasing. Food allergies can arise spontaneously during your life and cause many complaints. Your resistance can deteriorate to such an extent that you become and remain ill. It is not always known which symptoms are associated with the different forms of food allergy and what you can do to treat such an allergy. What is a food allergy, how do you recognize such an allergy and how can you treat food intolerance?
What is a food allergy?
A food allergy is an abnormal response of the immune system, in which the body produces antibodies against certain substances in food. The reaction this causes makes you feel sick. For example, certain people can become ill from cow’s milk, while others can drink milk without any problems. A food allergy occurs in no less than 2 to 3% of adults and only a small proportion know the cause of the complaints, which often last for years. A food allergy is even more common in children, but can only develop later in life.
What are the most common food allergies?
In principle, people can be hypersensitive or allergic to many different types of food. However, a number of allergies are very common. These are gluten intolerance and a cow’s milk allergy. These allergies are immediately followed in prevalence by food allergies to fish and shellfish. Hypersensitivity to peanuts, tree nuts or eggs are the next most common allergies.
What are the symptoms of a food allergy?
A food allergy often causes complaints for years without the cause immediately becoming clear. An allergy or hypersensitivity to food entails such a variety of complaints and symptoms that a food allergy is often not initially thought of. Only years later is the cause of the complaints medically determined by a doctor and something can finally be done about the complaints.
The following signs and symptoms may occur with multiple food allergies and forms of food intolerance :
- Nausea, stomach ache and vomiting
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Rash and eczema
- Shortness of breath, asthmatic complaints and shortness of breath
- Inflamed nose, eyes and throat
- Edema (fluid retention) in several places of the body
Diagnosis and treatment of food allergy
It is often very difficult to make a clear diagnosis regarding a food allergy. A dietitian or other nutritionist can randomly remove foods from the daily diet to see which substance is responsible for the severe reactions. There are also medicines and natural products that reduce general sensitivity to allergens. The combination of products that reduce hypersensitivity and dietary adjustment is certainly recommended.
More alternative treatment methods (such as Ayurvedic treatments or bioresonance) can also provide relief from the complaints because they can make accurate diagnoses about what exactly is going on based on the body’s reactions. There are also specific clinics that can treat food allergies; These private clinics usually specialize in a holistic approach to allergies.