What foods cause allergies. Food allergens

Since various types of allergies are not so uncommon in the modern world, most people just need to know about which foods are allergens - in order to protect themselves or loved ones.

There are three subspecies of allergenic products - according to the degree of their negative impact on people predisposed to this manifestation. So, allergenicity is high, low and medium. At the same time, it should be understood that there is a list of unwanted foods for certain types of allergies, and there are foods that are undesirable to use at certain periods of life and under certain conditions - for example, during pregnancy or with diathesis in children.

High allergenic products

So let's start with the most allergenic foods. These include honey, nuts (especially peanuts), milk, alcohol, avocados, pineapples, oranges, tangerines, eggplants, tomatoes, spices, watermelons, broths (mushroom, fish, meat), ham, grapes, soda, mushrooms, ice cream, carrots, persimmons, peas (dry), celery, chocolate, radishes, radishes, garlic, red apples, mustard, goose and duck meat, pork. Separately, it should be said about eggs, the most allergenic part is protein. More often than not, if you are allergic to an egg, you may also be allergic to chicken meat.

High allergenicity is also found in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, melons, strawberries, fried foods, bell peppers, herbs, wheat germ, sea buckthorn, pickles, white bread, onions, horseradish, vinegar, beets, pasta. Allergies can also be caused by turkey, cocoa, fruit kefir, peppers, unpasteurized cheeses, buns, mangoes, caviar, coffee, kvass, kiwi, ice cream, sauerkraut, smoked sausages, mayonnaise, cakes, canned food, peaches.

Also, such products include yeast and products that contain it. Strong allergens - preservatives, colorants, emulsifiers and fragrances. Substances that are used to process unripe fruits for transportation are also potentially dangerous.

Medium allergenic products

There are also a number of moderately allergenic foods. These are beans and soybeans, bananas, potatoes, lingonberries, grapefruits, lemons, beef, buckwheat, chicken, rabbit and turkey, green peppers, cherries, corn, rose hips, rice, oats, red currants, blueberries.

Low allergenic foods

Such products include -, prunes, sweet and sour apples, broccoli, lamb, green peas, white cabbage, horse meat, dairy products, tea, yellow cherries, zucchini, cucumbers, millet, barley, gooseberries, squash, dried apricots, yellow plums, lettuce, vegetable oil, turnips, pumpkin, dates, white currants, ghee, cauliflower, green beans.

Basically, a person's allergy manifests itself in one or two types of food, but sometimes a larger number of foods also have a negative effect. It is worth remembering that the more allergenic foods are on the menu, the higher the risk of cross-reactions - and if a person is allergic, serious complications can appear. If the allergy has already manifested itself, foods that are not allergic in the usual state can have a negative effect. These products include those that irritate the stomach lining.

Therefore, if there is no one hundred percent certainty that there will be no negative reaction to such products, it is better to introduce them into the diet separately and in very small portions.

How to reduce food allergies

Those who have to deal with allergic reactions can reduce their risk of developing allergies. For example, before cooking cereals, pesticides can be removed from it - for this, it is soaked for 10 hours in water. Potatoes are also soaked in cold water for 12 hours, after finely chopping them if you are allergic to starch. When cooking meat, the first broth is poured out after 10 minutes, cooking is finished in a new broth. And in general, it is better to cook the first courses in water or weak meat broth (the meat is not fatty and boneless). It is better to replace animal fats with vegetable or ghee.

And as cooking methods for allergy sufferers, cooking, steaming and baking are recommended. Food must be freshly prepared, since during long-term storage, fermentation and decay processes occur, which can aggravate the condition of the allergic person. Spicy, sour, salty, fried foods are contraindicated, as they irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.

It is necessary to reduce the consumption of foods such as salt and sugar, as they increase the irritating effect of allergens, spices and vinegar increase the permeability of the stomach mucous membranes, as a result, more allergens enter the bloodstream.

When vegetables, berries and fruits are heat treated, their possible allergic effect is reduced. The allergic effect of milk is reduced by heating and by the action of lactic acid bacteria.

Precautions and advice from an experienced specialist will always help to avoid allergies and make life easier. Be healthy!

In order to stay active, maintain health and good mood, a person needs to eat well, eat those dishes, the taste of which he likes. However, people with food allergies are forced to always remember about dietary restrictions - not following a specially selected diet not only worsens the condition, but can even cost lives.

Experts divide food allergens into several groups according to the degree of allergenic activity - only having an idea of ​​them, it is possible to draw up the right menu for a patient prone to allergic reactions.

Causes, reaction mechanism

Some types of food can cause an allergic reaction in the body, but fortunately, not all of them. This raises a logical question: why are some people susceptible to the manifestation of food allergies, while others are not? In order to answer it, it is necessary to analyze many factors related to the individual characteristics of the patient's organism and even the circumstances of his intrauterine development. So, the following can be considered the main circumstances that determine the body's immune response to allergenic foods:

• genetic predisposition;
• increased production of antibodies by the embryo during intrauterine development, due to the neglect on the part of a woman expecting a child, the rules of adherence to the diet;
• short period of breastfeeding;
• congenital or acquired pathology of the intestinal mucosa (increased permeability), which allows unwanted substances to enter the bloodstream;
• persistent imbalance in the positive intestinal microflora.

From the moment the products that cause allergies enter the body of a person prone to allergic manifestations, a special reaction of his immune system to foreign proteins immediately occurs. In a human body that is not subject to an allergic reaction, these allergens are successfully transformed into a neutral form that does not harm it.

In the case of the development of the body's immune response to a foreign protein ingested with food, both children and adults may experience the following symptoms:

• skin rashes, urticaria, eczema;
• swelling;
• feelings of discomfort and abdominal pain;
• indigestion, diarrhea, bloating;
• choking, bronchial obstruction, bronchospasm;
• headache; sneezing, runny nose;
• cardiovascular disorders, tachycardia;
• atopic dermatitis (in children).

In severe cases, Quincke's edema and anaphylactic shock may develop.

Food allergies can persist throughout life, and the patient must constantly avoid foods that are dangerous to him so as not to provoke the onset of symptoms.

Most common food irritants

Allergenic foods can be roughly divided into three large groups:

1. Allergens with high activity, which include whole milk, chicken eggs, fish and seafood, nuts (especially peanuts), pineapple, citrus fruits, bright red berries, melon, grapes.
2. Moderately active allergens - peach, apricot, rice, potatoes, paprika, corn, peas.
3. Weak allergens - squash (squash), bananas, watermelon, some meats (poultry, lamb, pork).

In general, if you detail the answer to the question of which foods can cause allergies, the list will be quite lengthy.

Vegetable allergens

• various varieties of cereals - wheat, bran, barley, rye, sorghum, buckwheat, etc .;
• fruits - apples of a bright color, quince, plum (prunes), wild berries;
• tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, beets, almost all types of cabbage;
• legumes - asparagus, beans of various varieties, soybeans, lentils;
• greens - lettuce, artichoke, dill, parsley, fennel, parsnips, celery, green onions, leeks;
• pomegranate, persimmon, papaya, avocado, figs;
• herbs and spices - mint, thyme, sage, marjoram, cloves, black and allspice, sesame seeds, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, bay leaf;
• mushrooms (traditional and yeast);
• coffee; chocolate and products made from it.

Animal allergens

• shrimp, crabs, lobsters, turtles;
• duck, goose meat, dishes from game meat - pigeons, guinea fowls, pheasants, partridges, black grouses;
• butter, hard cheese allergy;
• beef, goat meat, meat of wild animals - wild boar, deer, hare, squirrels;
• red and black caviar, eel, catfish, pike, tuna, pangasius, sturgeon, herring, halibut, cod, hake, hake, sturgeon, perch;
• oysters, mussels, squids, frogs.

As you might guess, the presented list is far from complete, since, due to the individual characteristics of each organism, absolutely any food product can cause an allergic reaction.

How do foods have different degrees of allergic activity? Experimentally, doctors came to the conclusion that the most common culprits of allergies are glycoproteins - food allergens with a molecular weight of 10,000 to 67,000. These protein substances are water-soluble and quite resistant to acids, high and low temperatures.

Due to the high content of the aforementioned food allergens, the most unsuccessful in allergic terms are eight foods (in ascending order of antigenicity):

• wheat;
• crabs, shrimps, crayfish;
• a fish;
• hazel (hazelnut);
• soya beans;
• whole cow's milk;
• peanut;
).

To compile an individual list of allergenic foods, laboratory methods are used - the study is based on a panel of food allergens that are most common.

This allows you to verify that a particular "suspect" product is indeed causing a reaction.

How to eat

The diet is compiled by an allergist, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient's body and should include a balanced amount of nutrients, trace elements, vitamins, etc. necessary for the full functioning of the body. It is required to remove from the menu first of all the most allergenic foods, that is, foods with a high allergenic potential, as well as foods with an average allergenic activity. Unfortunately, if even a small amount of the allergen is consumed, the symptoms will return, so only unconditional refusal of dangerous food is practiced (elimination from the diet).

Diet in adults

Nutrition for allergies in adult patients should be structured so that reaction-causing foods are completely eliminated from the diet. It is not always easy to identify them, so keeping a food diary is recommended, the food panel of allergens is assessed - that is, the results of the analysis obtained in the laboratory.

It is worth knowing that the reaction can be provoked not only by food allergens, but also by related substances that are sometimes present in the food. For example, poultry meat can contain antibiotics and / or hormones that cause allergies, wines - chemicals that were sprayed on vineyards, etc. Factory-made products almost always contain various additives: colorants, flavor enhancers, preservatives - all of them can also cause allergies.

Diet in children

As for young children, here you should take into account the characteristics of the child's body - increased permeability of the intestinal wall and enzyme deficiency. This leads to the penetration of untransformed proteins into the bloodstream, due to which food allergies in babies manifest themselves much more often than in adults. After the final formation of the child's digestive system, signs of food allergies may go away on their own.

Foods that cause allergies in children should not be present in the diet, even in moderation. A table of allergenic foods is essential for every breastfeeding mother, as it is her responsibility to ensure that allergens do not enter the baby's body during breastfeeding. Foods that cause allergies in adults and allergenic foods for children are the same food allergens with varying degrees of allergenic activity, so the diet can be very strict.

- This is the reaction of the immune system to a certain product, when in response to its use, the production of antibodies begins. Since with each intake of allergenic food, the amount of antibodies produced increases, the reactions are aggravated. It all starts with a harmless itching or loosening of the stool, and may end with anaphylactic shock, from which you can die.

Allergies must be distinguished from congenital allergies. Intolerance is the inability to break down and assimilate a food product, because the body does not have the necessary enzymes and other substances. Intolerance is found in infancy and accompanies a person throughout his life. The most striking example is the intolerance of cow's milk, when the use of any amount causes gross indigestion. At the same time, no antibodies are produced.

It is impossible to distinguish "by eye" allergy from intolerance, especially if the condition has arisen for the first time. Therefore, if a food allergy is suspected, a thorough examination is performed.

Possible reasons

After lengthy research in different countries, scientists have come to the conclusion that most food allergies are inherited. More susceptible to the formation of food allergies are those people whose relatives suffer from bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis.

The immune system of such people recognizes food products as foreign elements and begins to fight with them instead of breaking down what has been received and extracting useful substances and energy from food.

In this case, the immune response of an allergic person has its own characteristics. Upon contact with a food product, an intensive production of IgE immunoglobulin begins. It is a blood-borne protein.

The other side of the pathological immune response is connective tissue mast cells, which contain large amounts of histamine and serotonin, which ultimately produce an allergic reaction. These mast cells are located in the nasopharynx, intestines, lungs and skin.

When IgE combines with a mast cell, allergies “bloom” in one organ or the whole body at the same time.

What foods are you most often allergic to?

Foods that cause allergies in adults and children are slightly different.

In children

• eggs;
• milk;
• peanut.

In adults

• molluscs and crustaceans - shrimps, crabs, crayfish, lobsters;
• peanuts and any foods containing them are the most common cause of anaphylaxis;
• nuts, most often walnuts;
• a fish;
• eggs;
• chocolate;
• red fruits - cause a weak reaction.

Allergies develop to those foods that are often consumed. For example, the Japanese suffer from reactions to rice, and the inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries - to cod.

Doctors identify such a concept as cross allergy... This is a reaction to related products. If a person reacts to shrimp, then with a high degree of probability, problems will be with the use of crayfish, lobsters, crabs and other seafood.

During the ragweed flowering period, some people cannot eat the melon, especially if it has a musky flavor. Itching in the mouth and an extremely unpleasant aftertaste appear - this phenomenon is called oral allergy.

Allergy detection and diagnosis methods

There are 3 effective methods for detecting allergies: anamnestic, skin test and laboratory diagnostics.

Anamnestic method

With the anamnestic method, the doctor, together with the patient, analyzes the period of life during which the allergy occurred. Over time, an adult begins to understand which foods and their combinations cause an undesirable reaction.

If it is not possible to immediately identify such a product, then some time will have to be conducted. It is troublesome and time consuming, but very reliable.

The point of keeping a food diary is to first eat those foods that definitely do not cause any reaction, and then introduce one new product every 10-12 days and carefully monitor the body's reaction.

By examining your entire diet, you can identify those foods that initiate the onset of an allergic reaction. This method is used in cases where skin tests cannot be performed due to the risk of developing anaphylactic shock.

Skin test

It's a quick and easy way to spot an annoying product. Notches are applied to the disinfected skin of the forearm with a scarifier, and an extract from suspicious products is applied to scratches. Sometimes ready-made diagnostic kits are used in which the allergen is applied directly to the scarifier.

On scratches, where the allergen got into, swelling and redness develops. The diameter of the redness is judged on the severity of the allergy.

Laboratory diagnostics

Includes such analyzes:

• general clinical blood test - an increased amount of a special form of leukocytes or eosinophils is found;
• determination of the concentration of IgE in the blood - abnormally high in case of food allergies;
• determination of the amount of IgE and IgG - increase in response to a certain product.

The combination of these methods gives all the grounds for establishing an accurate diagnosis.

Can food allergies be cured?

No, it is impossible to cure food allergies at this stage in the development of medicine. However, there are some age-related features.

If a child is allergic to milk, then as the digestive system matures and matures, the reaction may weaken or stop altogether. A similar situation with eggs - with age, the allergy to them weakens.

Unfortunately, that's all. An allergic reaction to all other foods persists throughout life, and under no circumstances should a prohibited product be consumed. Not only the product itself is removed from the diet, but all others that can provoke cross reactions.

Consultation with an allergist with subsequent diagnostics is required. An allergy sufferer should always carry medications prescribed by a doctor, as they say, "in case of fire."

Always useful - Polyphepan, activated carbon, Enterosorbent and others. Any of them is useful to use in short courses of up to 3 days if you have indigestion or other symptoms.

Some Fun Facts About Food Allergies

• Scientists at the University of Chicago have found that the presence of opportunistic Clostridia in the intestines of mice protects against food allergies. The bacteria stop the antibodies from entering the bloodstream and the reaction does not develop.
• Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine studied the effects of the bronchial asthma drug Omalizumab on children with multiple allergies. As a result of long-term treatment, 85% of the children participating in the experiment were able to eat a small amount of two foods that were previously unavailable.
• JAMA Pediatrics has published statistics on the ratio of food allergies in children who received antibiotics at an early age, namely before 6 months. It turned out that in children treated with antibiotics for up to 1 year, food allergies develop twice as often as in their peers.
• The best book on nutrition for allergies was written by Alla Pogozheva - professor, doctor of medical sciences at the Federal Center for Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety. The book deals with many aspects of nutrition, is written in an accessible and understandable way.
• Allergy sufferers need to carefully replace prohibited foods with other available ones so that the diet remains complete.

Allergy is a very unpleasant and poorly understood disease that affects, according to various estimates, from 20% to 40% of the adult population of the planet. The most common type of this condition is food allergy.

Usually, allergic reactions to food are observed from an early age. In this case, over time, a person forms a list of foods that cannot be eaten. But it so happens that an adult suddenly begins to notice incomprehensible and unpleasant reactions of the body. What is it and how to deal with it?

Food, plant or animal origin, contains a large amount of proteins foreign to the human body. If the human immune system is normal, metabolic processes are not disturbed and there are no genetic diseases associated with protein intolerance, then our body secretes a sufficient amount of enzymes that can digest these foreign proteins.

Foods that cause allergies are a list of familiar and favorite foods that you will have to give up if you notice unusual reactions to their consumption.

Adults are often allergic to foods that did not cause concern in childhood.

The mechanism of triggering allergic reactions is not fully understood. Hence, there is no cure that can affect the cause itself. But there are a lot of medicines that relieve symptoms.

All food products are conventionally divided into three types according to the degree of allergenicity: high, medium and low.

Foods with a high degree of allergenicity:

• whole milk (cow, goat, sheep);
• freshwater fish and all dishes from it;
• seafood and caviar;
• chicken eggs;
• cereals (wheat, rye, barley);
• citrus fruits, exotic fruits, persimmon, melon;
• tomatoes, bell peppers (red and yellow), carrots and celery;
• chocolate, cocoa and all its derivatives, coffee;
• nuts;
• mushrooms;

Whole milk can cause allergies in both children and adults. Dairy intolerance, particularly lactose, and milk allergy are two different things.

Allergies can only be caused by one type of milk, for example, cow's milk. But in most cases, goat milk has this ability. The protein in this milk is slightly different from the proteins in other types of milk. It is not recommended to give goat milk to children under one year old, as its frequent use can cause anemia.

The resources of the human body are not unlimited. They dry up over time. The quality and quantity of enzymes that can digest food change. Adults, especially those over the age of 60, lose the enzymes that break down lactose. Therefore, they are not advised to eat whole milk. Better to cook porridge in half boiled milk. The exception is fermented milk products.

People suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in particular colitis, are not recommended to eat whole milk and meals prepared from this product. With such a disease, there is an almost complete absence of enzymes that process lactose. If we take into account the frequent dysbacteriosis accompanying colitis, fermented milk products will be the best way out, because they contain lactobacilli, which are natural bacteria in the human body and help digestion processes.

Fish is a fairly strong allergen, the exposure to which can even lead to anaphylactic shock. River fish are less allergenic than sea fish.

Eggs, combined with chicken meat and broth, cause quite severe allergy attacks. Protein is distinguished by this feature. Chicken egg yolk causes allergies to a lesser extent. Therefore, it is the yolk that is introduced into the complementary foods for babies, starting with a very small amount. Quail eggs are hypoallergenic.

Medium allergenic foods:

• beef, veal, chicken and broths from it;
• cereals (oats, rice, buckwheat);
• legumes;
• root crops (potatoes, turnips, beets);
• nectarine, peaches, apricots;
• wild berries (, lingonberry, blueberry, blackberry);
• , cherry and black currant.

In meat, during any heat treatment, the protein is modified and is well broken down by gastrointestinal enzymes. The exception is meat fried in a large amount of fat.

Berries that have a coloring pigment can cause allergies in both children and adults. But with heat treatment (compotes, jams, jellies and other dishes), their tendency to cause allergies decreases.

When eating root vegetables and legumes, you should consider your digestion, as these foods can cause flatulence.

Low allergenic foods:

• fermented milk products with a low fat content;
• lean pork and lamb, rabbit and turkey;
• cereals (pearl barley, millet, corn, oat);
• cabbage (cauliflower, broccoli, white cabbage);
• cucumbers and zucchini;
• parsley, dill, cumin;
• white currants and cherries;
• yellow varieties of plums and cherries;
• apples and pears of white and green varieties.

Eating these foods can only rarely cause allergies, and mostly in adults. It is these products that are recommended first of all to be introduced as complementary foods for babies up to one year old.

If you buy ready-made foods in a store, pay attention to their composition. Colorants, preservatives, emulsifiers and fragrances can cause allergies, even if they are included in familiar and non-reactive foods.

Dairy products and meat can be treated with chemicals or drugs to extend the shelf life. These can be antibiotics, sulfonamides, formaldehydes. They will be strong allergens and will cause an immediate reaction even in an adult, not to mention children.

Vegetables, fruits and grains may contain residues of pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals that have been used to extend their shelf life.

Pay attention to the container in which the product is enclosed. After all, substances that can cause allergies can also get into food from it. Also look at the expiration date and storage conditions. If they do not comply with the established rules, they may develop decay products or molds. These are also powerful allergens that can cause severe poisoning and lead to anaphylactic shock.

How to recognize food allergies. If you notice that your body has begun to react in a special way to seemingly familiar things, try to find out for yourself the reason for such strange behavior of your body.

You may be disturbed by organs completely independent of digestion. But food allergy is insidious because it can be disguised as other problems, the treatment of which will not bring any relief.

Food Allergy Symptoms:

• on the part of the skin: rash, itching, redness, swelling, the formation of small bubbles with liquid;
• from the side of breathing: runny nose, sneezing, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, bronchospasm, asthma attacks;
• from the side of vision: lacrimation, conjunctivitis, severe itching, edema;
• from the side of digestion: abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, change in taste;
• from the nervous system: dizziness, disorientation, confusion, loss of consciousness.

If you find yourself with the above symptoms, analyze what foods you ate. These may be familiar foods, but which you have not eaten for a long time.

If you have precisely figured out the cause of your ailments, then you should simply exclude the allergen product from your diet and the symptoms will go away.

But it often happens that allergies are caused by several foods at once. Then keeping a food diary is the best solution. In it, you will record every day what exactly you ate and the body's reaction to the food eaten. Thus, the cause of the ailment can be precisely determined.

There are foods that give a quick, almost instant, allergic reaction. Then it is very easy to define them. But there are foods that give a distant allergic reaction. That is, you may experience allergy symptoms even a few days after eating such a product. This is where the difficulty lies.

Allergy, food in particular, is a very insidious disease that requires a serious attitude towards itself. After all, you can get not just lacrimation, rash and itching. The consequences are much more tragic. Foods that cause allergies can not only undermine your health, but also take your life.

If you notice any manifestations of allergic reactions to any food product, immediately exclude it from your diet. The next step in your fight against an insidious ailment should be a visit to an allergist. It is the specialist who will be able to determine the cause of such reactions and prescribe adequate treatment. All recommendations and prescriptions of your doctor should be followed. Only then can you keep your body under control and avoid the unfortunate manifestations of food allergies.