The pollen season is upon us. For those, who suffer from allergies, this time in the year is tough to get through, but many people with pollen allergy can also react to a number of foods.

If you suffer from pollen allergy, you might also react to certain kinds of food – for instance when you peel potatoes or eat peaches or apricots. Responses may be itching in the mouth, and some say that the itching seems to continue right out of the ears.

The substances which cause allergies, are proteins. The proteins found in pollen are related to those proteins which are in fruit and vegetables, and the immune system may have difficulties separating them from each other. This may lead to a so-called cross-reaction, where pollen allergic persons reacts allergic to something they have never eaten before.

Sneezing and running eyes

Signs of pollen allergy is sneezing, a runny nose and eyes running (hay fever) together with an annoying itching. The nose might also be so congested that it may be difficult to breathe. In some cases, pollen allergy may cause symptoms from the lungs (asthma).

If you are allergic to pollen you might experience allergic symptoms when you eat certain fruits, vegetables, nuts or spices. The body reacts because it can not distinguish between the allergenic substances (the allergens) in pollen and similar substances in food. This is called cross-reactions.

Every other person with allergies to both birch, grass and mogwort pollen experience symptoms when they eat certain nuts, fruits and vegetables. Among those with only have birch pollen allergy, every three experience cross-reactions.

Some pollen allergic persons may experience symptoms year round, if they eat food that cross reacts with pollen. Others will only have symptoms in the pollen season.

If you suffer from birch pollen allergy, you might also experience symptoms from cross-reacting food when it is the season for pollen from alder, elm or hazel. Similarly, people with allergies to alder, elm and hazel respond to the same food as with birch pollen allergy.

It does not help on the symptoms from the pollen allergy it self that you avoid the foods that cross reacts with pollen.

Symptoms

When responding to food, which cross reacts with pollen, the most common symptoms are itching and swelling on the lips and in the mouth and throat. Some experience that the itching continues right out to the ears.

More rare are symptoms such as hives (rash and itching), asthma and stomach and ingestion problems. A very few people develops eczema on their hands when they touch on some of the food that cross reacts with pollen.

In cases where the reactions are severe such as swelling of the throat and neck, and the cause is not known, the doctor will in some cases perform an allergy test and make a provocation with the suspect foods.

If the doctor chooses to make an allergy test for the cross-reacting food, you should be aware of false positive results. For instance, many with grass pollen allergy will receive a positive response for wheat and other cereal products, when examining the blood sample, but they have no symptoms when they eat wheat. There they should not avoid wheat.

Below is a list of foods that might cross react with pollen.

Birch pollen

Food, which might cause allergic reactions when suffering from birch pollen allergy

Fruit: apricot, plum, peach, cherry, kiwi, nectarine, pear, apple

Vegetables: carrot, potato, tomato, pepper, celery

Nuts: hazelnut, peanut, almond, Brazil nut, walnut

Grass pollen

Food, which might cause allergic reactions when suffering from grass pollen allergy

Fruit: orange, melon

Vegetables: tomato, pea

Nuts: Groundnut / peanut

Mugwort / Sagebrush pollen

Food, which might cause allergic reactions when suffering from Mugwort / Sagebrush pollen allergy

Fruit: Melon, sun flower seeds

Vegetables: Pepper, carrot, parsnip, parsley root, celery

Herbs: Camille, Parsley

Spices and herbs

Spices and herbs, which may cause allergic reactions when suffering from pollen allergy

Anis, curry powder, marjoram, basil, coriander, oregano, dill, caraway, paprika, tarragon, meat, black pepper, fennel, wormwood, thyme.

Exotic fruits and vegetables

Some people with pollen allergy might get unexpected symptoms when they eat raw exotic fruits and vegetables, such as on travel. If you normally have strong reactions against food, it is a good idea to start with little bits of fruit and vegetables until you know whether you can tolerate them or not.

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These new research findings appears to be in line with other recent surveys which show that we need to get our immune system “started” so early in life as possible. This is best done if the child grows up in a “not too hygienic environment”, but instead subjected to a moderate level of all substances of life in all categories.

However, there does not appear to be any healing effect of having a cat, if the child already has developed asthma or allergy. In those cases the scientists still advices the parents to get rid of the cat, as soon as possible.

Click and read more about the second study here.

Another study also shows that it may not only be cats who have this protective effect. This second study even shows that being exposed to many pets at an early stage, not only provide some level of protection against developing allergies to the specific animals they are being exposed to. It also seems to have a preventive effect on other allergies.

Click and read more about this study here.

What do you think? Do you or your children suffer from asthma or allergies? Do you think that this makes sense? Write a comment…

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• occur when you eat the food you can not tolerate,
• disappear or decrease when you stop eating the food, and
• come back when you eat the food again.

Hypersensitivity to food are divided into food allergies and non-allergic food hypersensitivity.

Food allergies

Food allergies occur, when specific proteins (allergens) in food affects the body’s immune system. The body may respond by forming allergy antibodyIgE. The antibody is directed at the food you are allergic to. In rare cases, IgE is not formed, but the allergy is triggered in a different way. Coeliac disease an example on this – although coeliac disease normally is not considered as an allergic disease.

When you eat the food you can not tolerate, there is an allergic reaction with symptoms from the eyes, nose, lungs, skin, stomach and intestinal canal or heart-cardio vascular system. Most common two or more symptoms are seen.

It is different how much of the allergen, is required to produce symptoms, but in some cases even very small quantities can trigger severe symptoms.

The allergy antibody is measured by an allergy test – either a blood sample or a test on the skin, known as a priktest. Other tests, such as lappetest on the skin, are used in rare cases to investigate for other allergic mechanisms.

The allergy test is not enough to make the final diagnosis. 

Non-allergic food hypersensitivity

In non-allergic food hypersensitivity there is no allergic reaction from the body. The response can not be measured by an allergy test.

Most often, the symptoms of the non-allergic food hypersensitivity is lighter and comes later than with food allergy, and often you must eat more of the food (the allergen) before experiencing symptoms. You can not however, from the symptoms alone distinguish between food allergy and non-allergic food hypersensitivity.

Hypersensitivity to food additives is usually a non-allergic food hypersensitivity like sensitivity to milk (xyz). Some of the diseases, which falls under the non-allergic food hypersensitivity, was formerly called intolerance. 

The diagnosis

A blood sample or a skin prick test can only be used to support a presumption of allergy, but is never enough to make the diagnosis of food hypersensitivity. This diagnosis can only be made final by comparing the medical history and test with a period of diet and a provocation. During the diet, you should not eat the suspected food. In the subsequent provocation, you must eat them again.

In both food and non-allergic food hypersensitivity symptoms will disappear or be reduced when dieting and return when provoked. 

Contact allergy and food

Contact allergy may occur when chemicals comes in contact with the skin. The contact allergy appears as eczema on the skin. Nickel allergy is an example of contact allergy.

If you have a contact allergy,  such as nickel allergy, you might experience in rare cases, that the skin symptoms will flare up if you eat food that contains nickel in sufficient quantities.

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