vendredi 31 mai 2013

What are food allergies?

By Arthur Marks


Many people downplay the effects of food allergies as mild ailments, but this is sadly not the case. Albeit some of their manifestations might be tolerable, there exist others that are thorns in the flesh for their sufferers. Thus, it is of paramount import that the public at large to appreciate the various forms which these ailments manifest themselves.

Food allergies are often exhibited when the body's key systems like the digestive tract, respiratory tract, or even the cardiovascular system react negatively from a person ingesting allergy causing meals. Such intakes often drive the body's immune system to generate its first line of defense i.e. antibodies whose sole mission is to combat the allergens, which are simply the matter in the ingested food that cause allergies.

It is sad to note that these disorders are extremely rampant in young children, and according to the US's food and drugs administration (FDA) a significant number of young children often suffer from one or another food allergy. While the figures also show that only a small fraction of adults are affected by this ailment.

There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud of shocking statistics in that most of these children usually outgrow these eating disorders. For instance it is noted that out of all children that are allergic to milk, 80% of them shake off this disorder when they grow up. While 2/3 of those who can't eat eggs, and 80% of those who can't partake of wheat or soy foods normally outgrow these allergies by the time they reach 5 years.

However, allergies of some kinds of nuts such as peanuts are astonishingly stubborn, if the statistics are to be believed, with only 10% -20% of children suffering from them being able to shake them off. On the other hand fish or shellfish allergies often manifest themselves later on in life, and it quite sad that these kinds cannot be outgrown.

One important thing to remember is that food allergies develop with a wide range of symptoms, which often vary from one person to the other. Some of these are notably mild; affecting on part of the body, while others extremely severe, and affect more than one part.

Food allergies often affect some of the most critical systems and organs in the body, which include the digestive tract, respiratory system, and the most prevalent kinds affect the skin. The milder forms of these disorders are often characterized by abnormal swellings, abdominal aches, respiratory problems, and the like.

On the other hand, most people confuse such kinds of allergies to the milder food intolerance, as they often manifest similar symptoms, which include indigestion, migraines, burping or even loose stools. This, however, is not the case as food intolerance doesn't have any effect on the immune system, and is consequently, seldom as perilous as food allergies, which can actually cause death.




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