Do you easily develop some allergic reactions when you eat certain kinds of food? You are right in assuming that they are but the so-called food allergies. The reaction never feels right and comfortable at any cost, by the way. How will you enjoy eating those delicacies that are worth drooling over?
How can you feel at ease whenever you get invited over dinner or some parties? More so, you need to keep in check of the food that you ingest if you would rather want to avoid some complications.
Food Allergy Discussed
Literally, a food allergy is labeled as the adverse immune system response to the food protein. It falls under a different category as compared to the so called adverse reactions as prompted by pharmacologic reactions, food intolerance, and some other toxin related feedbacks.
There are several people who develop an allergic reaction to food. However, the mistake that is often made is that of thinking it is a food allergy. The truth is that only a small percentage of the entire population is affected by such. To set things clearer, the term refers to the abnormal reaction of the body to the food that turns on a different kind of response from the immune system. The symptoms come out as some form of retort.
The rest of the characterized abnormal reactions are lactose or milk intolerance, toxic responses, and food poisoning. It is but important for those who are allergic in some kind of food to be able to identify their allergens so they can avoid taking them in. The attacks range from the mild, moderate, up to those that can cause illness, and for the worst part, it may bring about death.
The Occurrence of Allergic Reactions to Food Revealed
Food allergens are those ingredients which are the culprits for the allergic response. They are typically the proteins that defy the heat of cooking, the intestinal digestive enzymes, or the acid in the stomach. This then leads to their survival that allows them to go over the gastrointestinal lining and then to gain entry to the bloodstream, and finally to target the organs. There is a certain mechanism that it involves and it has something to do with heredity as well as the immune system.
Heredity. There is this fact which points out an individual’s tendency to generate the IgE and studies show that it is inherited. Typically, those people who exhibit food allergies are from lineages with history of allergies. It may not be closely related to food but to other allergens like fur, drugs, feather, or pollens.
Researches likewise say that it is more likely for a child to develop allergies if both parents are allergic to some certain allergens as opposed to a child who only has one allergic parent.
Immune system. There are two principal components of the immune system which are involved in the abnormal reaction to food. One of which is the kind of protein that is termed immunoglobulin E or IgE. It passes through the blood. The other kind is the mast cell or the specialized cell which lies in the body tissues. It is found in all tissues so that makes the allergic reactions easily available in the throat, nose, skin, lungs, as well as in the gastrointestinal tract.
Again, it is necessary that you determine your own allergen. After all, food allergies can bring the worst conditions to you.