Which foods can cause allergies

There are currently close to 200 types of foods known to induce allergies in the world, but more than 90% of food allergy cases are concentrated in eight common food ingredients, including milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, wheat, fish, and crustaceans.

In the five or six years I have been doing nutrition consulting, I have come across all kinds of food allergy cases. Many people wonder why there are more people allergic to mangoes and peaches than to nuts. This is actually related to the dietary structure of different regions. In East Asia, the consumption rate of fluffy stone fruits and tropical fruits is high, and the plant eggs in these foods are The white hair and down themselves may become allergens. In severe cases, even just a little bit of unwashed peach hair can cause the mouth to swell into a sausage mouth. A while ago, when I was doing science popularization in the community, I met a girl who mistakenly ate an unpeeled peach given by a relative. She was itchy for three days and thought she had herpes. Finally, after checking, I found out that it was a contact allergy induced by peach hair.

In addition to these fresh ingredients, many hidden allergenic ingredients in processed foods are more likely to be pitted. If you casually look through the ingredient list of the bread, potato chips or even plums on hand, there may be hidden ingredients such as milk powder, egg powder, and soy lecithin that you have not noticed. There are even some products that do not directly add allergens but have just been processed on the production line. Nut products, residual trace ingredients may induce severe reactions. In the past two years, we have seen news that children with peanut allergies were out of breath and sent to the emergency room in less than half an hour after eating cookies that were not marked with cross-contamination risks. This is the core reason why our country now requires pre-packaged foods to be labeled with allergen warnings.

There is a saying on the Internet now that "food allergies can be cured as you grow older." This is neither completely right nor wrong. For example, allergies to milk and eggs are common in infants and young children. Indeed, more than 60% of children can develop tolerance by about 5 years old as their intestinal barrier develops. They can drink milk and eat cakes normally without any problem, but allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood are not so easy. It is easy to "self-heal" and most of them will last a lifetime. You must not try to eat them casually with the mentality of "it will be fine when you grow up". I have a friend with a nut allergy that I have known for several years. Last year, I tasted half an imported cashew nut brought by a relative and friend. I felt my throat was tight within two minutes of swallowing it. Fortunately, I brought anti-allergy medicine with me, otherwise I would have almost called 120, but it was too dangerous.

Of course, there is no need to be nervous when you see these highly allergenic ingredients. If you have never experienced any discomfort such as rashes, itching, or chest tightness while eating these foods since you were a child, it is absolutely fine to eat them normally. If you really suspect that you have a food allergy, don’t just check the symptoms on the Internet and go to the hospital for a food-specific IgE test or a standardized oral food challenge test, which is much more reliable than guessing on your own.