Visceral food allergies

Visceral food allergy is an abnormal immune response produced by the immune system to specific proteins and residual impurities in animal viscera. It is not considered "hypocrisy" or "weak gastrointestinal". The overall incidence rate is between 0.2% and 1.1%. Most patients can avoid attacks by avoiding allergens, and mild symptoms can be alleviated by taking appropriate medications. Only a very small number of severely allergic people are at risk of shock.

Last Wednesday, I was outpatient in the allergy department. I met a young man in his early twenties who was brought in by a friend. His neck and face were all swollen and he was gasping for breath. I asked him that he bought two skewers of grilled chicken hearts on the way to get off work. After eating, he just walked 500 meters and felt that his throat was tight and his whole body was itchy. He had diarrhea twice before after eating grilled chicken hearts. He always thought the stall was not clean, so he took some montmorillonite powder to carry it over. This time he almost fainted before he decided to go to the hospital. He took blood and tested for specific IgE. Sure enough, he was allergic to poultry myocardial protein, and the index was so high that it almost exploded.

Speaking of which, the academic community has not yet fully unified the determination of allergens for visceral allergies. One school of scholars insists that organ-specific proteins are responsible. For example, retinol-binding protein in pig liver and surfactant protein in pig lungs are two completely different things from muscle tissue proteins of the same animal. This can also explain why many people eat chicken and pork without any problems, but problems arise when they eat chicken hearts and pork liver. The other school of thought prefers "cross-sensitization". For example, many patients who are allergic to dust mites will cross-react with the dust mite allergens remaining in pig lungs. Many people are allergic to veterinary drugs and feed additives remaining in the internal organs. They are not internal at all. The blame lies on the filth itself - both groups have clinical data to support them, but they have not reached a conclusion yet. Therefore, when clinically checking for allergens, some doctors will ask you to list all the internal organs of the same species for screening, and some will ask you to check common additives first, which is actually reasonable.

I have come across too many people who regard visceral allergies as other problems. For example, my cousin's child took pig liver puree as supplementary food to supplement iron when he was a child. Every time he finished eating, the corners of his mouth turned red. The old man always said that he was "getting angry" and "the child was too anxious to eat." It was not until he ate less than half a bowl of pork liver porridge at one time that his whole face was so swollen that he could not open his eyes, so he thought of checking the allergens. Many people can’t tell the difference between visceral allergies, food intolerance and food poisoning. In fact, they are easy to distinguish: allergies are caused by eating specific types of viscera, whether they are boiled, charcoal grilled or cooked in big-name restaurants. Intolerances are mostly caused by eating too much and people feel uncomfortable. Food poisoning is simpler, and people who eat together will most likely be infected together.

As for the treatment method, the first suggestion of most clinicians now is to strictly avoid sensitized internal organs. After all, it is a trivial matter to feel uncomfortable at the onset of the disease, but it is troublesome to induce shock. However, there are also many studies that are trying desensitization treatment. I have previously checked a small sample clinical trial in Europe. Patients with pig visceral allergies were given a small dose of pig liver protein extract and gradually increased the dosage. After 12 months, about 60% of the patients were able to eat about one or two cooked meals normally. Pig liver, but this is not yet considered a routine treatment option in China. After all, the risk of inducing severe allergies during the desensitization process is not low. Unless the allergic reaction is particularly mild and patients must eat offal due to dietary restrictions or nutritional needs, generally no one will take the risk.

By the way, don’t take chances like “I’m only allergic to pig liver, so eating kidneys will definitely be fine.” According to clinical statistics, if nearly half of patients are allergic to one type of pig viscera, they will also be cross-sensitized to other pig viscera. About 30% of the patients will be allergic to the same type of viscera from different species. For example, people who are allergic to pig liver have a high probability of being infected by eating beef liver or sheep liver. If the allergy is really found, it is best to avoid all the same type of viscera, and don’t use yourself as a guinea pig. I once saw a patient who was severely allergic to pork intestines. He didn't believe it and thought that it would be fine if he cooked it thoroughly. He secretly took a bite and went to the emergency room with anaphylactic shock. His blood pressure was almost undetectable. It took a lot of effort to save him. I'm really not alarmist.

Nowadays, the awareness rate of visceral allergies is really low. Many people have committed it several times without thinking about it. If you feel uncomfortable every time you eat certain types of viscera, whether it is a rash, diarrhea, or an inexplicable tightness in the throat or difficulty breathing, don’t force yourself to do it. Take the time to go to the allergy department to check the allergens. It doesn’t cost much, so buying a reliable one is better than anything else.