Please call our service hotline (852) 2763 1488 for more information.
|
Understanding Food Allergy
What are Allergies?
Von Pirquet, a Viennese physician, first used the word allergy in 1906 to mean “altered reactivity.” He described allergic people as having excessive responses to something in their environment. These environmental allergens, which are virtually limitless in number, can trigger our immune system into battle, and give rise to allergic (or hypersensitivity) reactions. In fact, almost anything can stimulate our immune system into action. Certain foods, pollens, animal dander, molds, yeasts, and bacteria, as well as many chemicals, are the most commonly recognized allergens.
The Relationship between Allergy and Health
The relationship between the many common symptoms (including fatigue, headache, anxiety, as well as itchy runny nose and puffy eyelids) and the allergies that caused them may go unrecognized for years or mistakenly attributed to passing viral infections or recurrent “colds”. Increased stress, recurrent infections or declining health may add to the burden of chronic allergies. Over the years, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, autoimmune disease, eczema, and migraines, to name a few serious conditions linked with food allergies, can develop into chronic conditions if the offending allergens are not discovered and removed from the diet.
Who has allergies?
Conservative estimates imply that as many as 25 percent of the population have significant allergies to some types of foods, chemicals, or inhalants. The true incidence of allergy and intolerance may be considerably higher if we include the less dramatic symptoms of occasional anxiety, joint aches, generalized fatigue, and water retention as well.
Possible Symptoms Associated with Food Allergies
| Affected Parts |
Possible Symptoms |
| Digestive System |
Indigestion, Gas & Bloating, Diarrhea, Mouth sores, Constipation, Cramping pain, Hiccup, Vomiting, Gastroxia, Gallbladder Disease |
| Skin |
Eczema, Skin Rashes, Urticaria, Dry Skin, Psoriasis, Herpetiformis, Hair Follicle Inflammation |
| Cognitive & Psychological |
Anxiety, Learning Disabilities, Hyperactivity, Autism, Depression, Food Cravings, Poor Concentration, Anorexia |
| Muscle & Joints |
Joint Pain, Joint Inflammation (Arthritis), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Muscle Aches |
| Ear & Eyes |
Auditory Vertigo, Ear Effusion, Tinnitus, Itchy Eyes |
| Cardiac & Vascular System |
Hypertension, Migraines, Hypotension |
| Others |
Giddiness, Headaches, Head Swelling, Insomnia, Abnormal Blood Sugar Level, Weight Fluctuation, Chronic Fatigue, Water Retention, Obesity, Overweight |
Types of Allergic Reactions and their Mediators
Allergic Reactions can be divided into two categories:
 Immediate Onset Reactions (mediated via IgE antibodies typically)
Delayed Onset Reactions (mediated via IgG antibodies typically)
Immediate Onset Reactions
This type of allergic reaction, mediated via IgE antibodies typically occurs immediately after contact with an allergen. High levels of IgE antibodies reacting to specific allergens can cause serious health problems. This type of allergy is easily recognized because it involves quick and dramatic symptoms.
Delayed Onset Reactions
The delayed type of reaction is much less obvious and thus more difficult to discover; the reaction may occur up to several hours or days after contact with the allergen. This type of allergy is often considered “hidden allergies”. Chronic fatigue, arthritis, hives, eczema, headaches, water retention, irritable bowel, and many other chronic symptoms are often the legacy of unrealized and untreated IgG mediated allergic reactions.
Food Allergy and Other Food-related Adverse Reactions
The terms ‘food allergy’, ‘food sensitivity’ and ‘food intolerance’ are often used interchangeably by the general public, to describe any unpleasant experience brought by eating foods. They are easily confused because they share many of the same signs and symptoms. But no matter what term is used, it is important to recognize that many different types of illnesses occur due to foods and food ingredients on an individualistic basis. Different strategies are required to deal with these illnesses.
Food allergies and food intolerances are two common classes of food sensitivities.
Food Allergies
Food allergies specifically involve abnormal responses from the immune system to particular food or food component, usually a naturally occurring protein. Two types of abnormal immunological responses can occur - immediate hypersensitivity reactions and delayed hypersensitivity reactions. Both are well documented to occur in certain individuals upon ingestion of specific foods.
Immediate hypersensitivity reactions are IgE-mediated reactions with symptoms ensuing within minutes of the ingestion of the offending food. These are often called the ‘Classic allergy’ or ‘true food allergy’.
Delayed hypersensitivity reactions are reactions with symptoms developing 48 – 72 hours after ingestion of the offending food.
‘Delay-onset food allergy’ usually comes with more chronic and subtle symptoms. Due to the difference with the classic and acute IgE-mediated food allergy, the delayed type is sometimes regarded as ‘food intolerance’ or ‘food sensitivity’ in our everyday language. If you are suffering from any adverse reactions relating or possibly relating to foods, a blood test could give you some clues on your condition.
Intolerances
According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, food intolerances are adverse reactions to foods or components of foods that do NOT directly involve the immune system. In the everyday usage, an intolerance or sensitivity is a broader term that applies to any unpleasant and non-psychologically based reaction to a specific food or food ingredient. According to the University of Rochester and University of Chicago, symptoms of intolerance may be the same as in food allergy though it does not affect the immune system.
Related Articles
Customers conducting the Food Allergy Test also have interest in the following test
|
|
Room 503, 5/F Corn Yan Centre, 3 Jupiter Street, Fortress Hill, Hong Kong
© 2003-2015 HK BioTek Ltd. All rights reserved |
|
|
Food Allergy Test
