Food allergy

an immune system response that creates antibodies

to attack substances in a food that immune system identifies as harmful

the reaction releases huge stores of chemical

substances, including histamines

cause symptoms ranging from a mild case of hives to

a potentially life-threatening system shutdown

IgE-mediated food allergies

the immune system produces several different types of molecules

known as immunoglobulins, as part of the bodys defence mechanism against viral, microbial and fungal infections
one particular form, immunoglobulin E (IgE) is also produced in

response to parasitic infections

sometimes the body can also mount an IgE response towards

agents such as pollen, dust, and food

Food allergies: signs and symptoms

hives, swelling, or an itchy rash itching or swelling of the lips, tongue, or mouth tightening of the chest, hoarseness, or coughing abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea

Food allergies: signs and symptoms

fainting or passing out, paleness, blueness, irregular heartbeat coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing fear of impending doom, panic, chills, sudden weakness death, if effective emergency treatment is not immediately

administered

Cause of food allergy

nature: genetics nurture: food

Allergens
are usually proteins other macromolecules such as polysaccharides can act as allergens

but these usually only generate poor antibody responses and therefore not involved in IgE-mediated food allergies
sensitisation towards many food allergens probably occurs via the

gastro-intestinal tract
in adults the onset of food allergy may be related to inhalant

allergies such as birch, grass pollen and latex

as a consequence of homologies between the allergens in, for

example, pollen or latex and various fruits and vegetables, such individuals can develop cross-reactive allergies to fresh fruits and vegetables, known as pollen-fruit and latex-fruit syndromes

Common allergic foods

hens egg

cows milk
fish cereals - wheat shell-fish and seafood

tree nuts - almond, brazil nut,

cashew nut, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio, walnut peanut soya

seeds - sesame, mustard, sunflower seed fresh fruits and vegetables - kiwi, peach, celery

Hens egg allergy more frequent in infants, many outgrow their allergy by school age
allergens originate primarily from egg-white, including ovomucoid and

ovalbumin, which constitute 10% and 50% of egg-white proteins

both proteins are heavily glycosylated - 25% of the mass of ovomucoid

comprising carbohydrate
both are resistant to enzymatic digestion and denaturation

there are other minor allergens in egg white (ovotransferrin and

lysozyme) and yolk

in general, cooking such as boiling to completely solidify the egg reduces

its allergenic activity

Cows milk allergy allergens (casein, -lactoglobulin and -lactalbumin) are found in both the whey and casein fractions
is predominantly an allergy of infancy and is generally outgrown by

school age
can cause severe reactions - a drop of milk can be sufficient to trigger an

anaphylactic reaction
individuals with cows milk allergy cannot usually tolerate dairy foods

based on sheeps and goats milk - due to the similarity in the protein sequences of caseins and whey proteins
the allergenicity of milk cannot be removed by simple thermal processing

Fish allergy the major fish allergen is parvalbumin, a protein which is conserved across fish species
this similarity is responsible for the cross-reactive nature of allergens in

cod, salmon, mackerel, herring and plaice, amongst many other fish species
parvalbumin is heat-stable, with the holo-form being both more IgE-

reactive and more heat stable than the apo form

individuals with fish allergy cannot consume even well cooked fish

Shell-fish and seafood allergy tropomyosin, a heat-stable muscle protein is the major allergen
this major allergen with highly homologous proteins are found in the

commonly edible crustaceans

these homologies are responsible for the cross-reactive allergies observed

between various types of seafood including shrimps, lobsters, crab, squid and abalone
in addition to being stable to cooking, the allergen leaches from shellfish

and seafood into cooking water

Cereals (wheat) allergy wheat, barley and rye contain a range of allergens including prolamins (alcohol-soluble storage proteins)
prolamins are responsible for triggering Coeliac diseases and food

allergies such as food-dependent exercise -induced anaphylaxis and atopic dermatitis

cereals may trigger the occupational allergy known as Bakers asthma -

inhalation of flour particles in dusty working environments e.g. bakeries

protein inhibitors of proteases and -amylases (-amylase/trypsin

inhibitors) of cereals are both inhalant and food allergens

other proteins as allergens in Bakers asthma including Tri a Bd 17K, a

wheat peroxidase

Tree nuts allergy the major allergens are the seed storage proteins including both the 2S albumins and the 7S and 11/12S globulins
for some nuts such as hazelnut, allergy can be associated with prior

sensitisation to birch pollen

Peanut allergy the major allergens are 7S seed storage globulin, 11S seed storage globulins and 2S albumin
increased in the last 20 years, particularly in Western countries thermal processing (including roasting) does not destroy its allergenic

activity
boiling may reduce allergenicity as a consequence of allergens leaching

into the cooking water

research has shown that peanut oil (including refined peanut oil but

not highly refined peanut oil) can cause allergic reaction

Soya allergy allergens including the seed storage globulins (7S seed storage globulin and 11S seed storage globulins) and a homologue (Gly m 4) of the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1
allergens appears to be stable to processing procedures as it can be found

in textured soya protein although not in roasted beans or fermented products such as soy sauce

Seeds allergy mustard allergy has been reported in France amongst children
sesame seed allergy is especially important in countries such as Israel,

where a sesame-based weaning food, tahini, is widely used

major allergens in both sesame and mustard belong to the seed storage

proteins (2S albumin)

allergens are remarkably stable to processing and proteolysis the allergenicity of the foods is unlikely to be modified by thermal

processing

Fresh fruits and vegetables allergy fruit allergy is often associated with allergy to tree and grass pollen and to latex allergy
individuals may develop allergy to birch pollen (major birch pollen

protein Bet v 1) and related proteins are found in other plant species and edible tissues of fresh fruits and vegetables
consequently, when people who have a Bet v 1-type birch pollen allergy

eat fruits such as apples, they often experience a reaction to the fruit which is confined to the oral cavity (oral allergy syndrome, OAS)
many Rosaceae fruits are involved in this pollen-fruit allergy syndrome,

together with vegetables such as celery

these allergens are rapidly destroyed by cooking except for the form

found in celery, which can retain its allergenic activity even in soups

Fresh fruits and vegetables allergy other types of fruit allergy occur where there is no association with a prior pollen or latex allergy
notably kiwi fruit allergy, which involves the cysteine proteinase actinidin

allergies to peach and related Rosaceae fruit found in southern Europe

can often be life-threatening

they are triggered by non-specific lipid transfer proteins these proteins are thermostable and not destroyed by processing the allergens even finding their way into fermented products such as

wine and beer

Identifying imposters
Food intolerances Food poisoning Histamine poisoning Reactions to food additives

Food intolerances the inability to digest a particular food (such as milk or wheat), it is typically related to a missing enzyme in the digestive system that prevents a person from fully digesting the food Sign and symptoms of food intolerance and food allergy could be similar !!! A true food allergy, even tiny amounts of the food can cause a severe reaction. In most cases, someone who has a food intolerance can eat small amounts of the food with only mild symptoms, such as indigestion or heartburn.

Food poisoning ingestion of foods that may have toxins or bacteria and make a person sick

Histamine poisoning some foods, including strawberries, chocolate, wine, and beer, may contain enough histamine to produce similar reactions (symptoms of an allergic reaction) Reactions to food additives MSG (monosodium glutamate) and sulfites often cause reactions, but in these cases, the body has a chemical reaction, not an allergic reaction, to the additive, not to the food itself