About 20% of the population suffers from pollen allergy, and if you are one of the unfortunate, you should be aware of certain kinds of foods. See the list here.

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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Question

When I was little I had a milk allergy of which I grew out of. Therefore, my son also has the risk of getting it.
My son is 7 ½ months. Should I avoid giving him yogurt and cheese?

Answer

When you talk about milk allergy or hypersensitivity to milk you distinguish between allergies and intolerances. When it comes to allergies, the body produces antibodies against milk, and therefore allergies can be determined by a skin prick test or through a blood test. By intolerance no antibodies are formed and as such a positive determination can be difficult.

It is typical children under one year of age, who develops hypersensitivity to milk. The symptoms will be vomiting, diarrhea, eczema, asthma, swollen mucous membranes, in for example the eyes. It is always very important to have your child diagnosed by your doctor. If he suspect your child suffer from milk allergy, he will often put your child on a diet and the doctor will then make a provocation with milk. Since this is not entirely without risk, we should as parents not try to do this ourselves, and often it will take place at the hospital.

It is very important that if you as a parent, have any suspicion of milk allergy, that you contact your doctor and talk to your doctor about this. If you begin to put your child on a diet, without there actually is reason for this, it will, first of all be sorry for the child and secondly, there will be a risk that the child will be malnutritioned.

If the child has been diagnosed with hypersensitivity to milk, you should not give you child yogurt or products based on cow’s milk. A child with milk allergy should have hydrolysed infant formula, up to 3 years of age, to cover its needs for energy and calcium.

Whether or not you should feed your child products made with cow’s milk depends on whether you know that he has allergy to milk or not. If you, by your doctor has been prescribed hydrolysed infant formula for you child, in addition to breast feeding, then the doctor had a reasonable suspicion that you need to follow up on. If your son so far has been given ordinary formula and also gets cow’s milk in its porridge, etc., it should be no problem to give him yogurt and cheese.

Continued good luck with him,

Maya

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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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What is food allergy?

Food allergy is an allergic reaction, that is a hypersensitivity reaction to something in the food, which we can not tolerate.
Food allergy should not be confused with food intolerance, which is something quite different. In both cases you get symptoms when you eat a certain food in a normal or small quantity, so it can be easily confused.

Food allergy is very rare. Many refrain from eating things that they mistakenly believe they are hypersensitive to without being properly examined.
If you believe that you or your children suffer from food allergy, it is therefore very important to have the right diagnosis made, including a systematic review of diet and the symptoms. This is done best at one’s own doctor or a specialist in allergic diseases.

Why do you get food allergies?

In order to develop food allergies your immune systems must overreact to foreign proteins in the surroundings. The response must be carried out with specific IgE antibody. It is called a Type 1 allergy. Antibodies are the body’s antidote to foreign substances.

When exposed to proteins in foods, your body may develop specific IgE in such large quantities that it triggers an allergic reaction the next time you eat that particular type of food.

As a general rule you can not have an allergic reaction the first time you eat a new type of food. But this is only a qualified truth. Sometimes an allergic reaction is not due to a genuine food allergy, but to the fact that you already are allergic, for example to birch pollen. This phenomenon is called cross allergy.

Examples of food allergens

In principle, you can react allergic to all foods, but the most common allergens are:

• Seafood
• Milk
• Fish
• Soybeans
• Wheat
• Egg
• Nuts
• Fresh fruit
• Vegetables
• Peanuts

Cross reaction allergens

• Birch cross reacts with hazelnut and other nuts, apple, pear, cherry, walnut, almond, plum, kiwi, potato peel, tomato and carrot.
• Grass cross reacts with beans, lentils and green peas and peanuts.

How does food allergy feel?

The allergic reactions are very diverse and can start immediately after eating the food or may start several hours later. Typical symptoms are:

• Swollen lips, face and / or throat
• Tingling in the oral cavity and on the lips
• Vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea
• Headache
• Fatigue, irritability
• Hay fever
• Asthma
• Skin eruption, deterioration of child eczema, (atopic dermatitis), or hives
• Very rarely anaphylactic shock, which is a circulatory collapse that requires emergency treatment with epinephrine.

The symptoms may one time be mild, the next time be life-threatening because of Asphyxia or anaphylactic shock.
It is therefore important not to expose yourself for provocations, only because you “will not be a burden”.
If you feel starting shortness of breath, you must immediately under medical treatment. Call 911 if necessary.

What you can do to prevent food allergies?

• Pay attention to the things you are allergic to, and on whether any cross-reactions arise.
• Get advice of a specialist in allergic diseases (an allergist).
• Please note the symptoms and contact your doctor at the slightest doubt.

How does the doctor diagnosed food allergies?

The examination largely depends on how annoying the symptoms are.
Often it is possible to find another causes of the symptoms, such as the inability to digest certain foods (among other coeliac disease and laktose intolerans), non-immunological reactions (eg. histamine in shellfish) and minor food-poisoning. This is seen in about two percent of the population. It may also be a irritated colon or a chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract (ulcerosa colitis and Crohn’s disease) which can give similar symptoms.

If the symptoms are pronounced, and the suspected food allergy is justified, a proper clarification of what caused the disease will usually take place in a specialist in allergic diseases.

Allergy tests with, for example skin prick test or RAST (blood test) can be good to rule out allergies, but unfortunately, they often show reactions, which has no practical significance.

It is important that the allergy tests are made and examined by experts.

The allergist will often take you through the following program:

• Two weeks on a normal balanced diet, with a carefully diary on the diet and the possible reactions.
• If you during those two weeks observe relevant reactions, you should probably go ahead with a two-week period without the suspected food, where you keep a diary as before.
• If the symptoms improve significantly, is the next step a food provocation. To begin with an “open” provocation in which both you and the examiner knows what you are eating. If symptoms appear, you will then be exposed to a number of double-blind placebo-controlled food provocation (DBPCFC), where neither the examiner or you knows what kind of food you are eating

In order to be diagnosed with food allergies, you should in most cases, go through the program outlined above.

Possible deterioration

• Mucous membranes in the mouth and throat may swell so that breathing is troubled.
• Asthma attacks and / or anaphylactic shock may be triggered.
• It is getting increasingly difficult to get a proper nutritionally balanced diet.

Prospects for the future

Food allergy is a rare disease that primarily affects young children. Around three percent of young children are affected. Most grow from their allergy before the age of three years. Only about one percent of the adult population suffer from food allergies. Most of these can live a normal life with some limitations in their diet.

How are food allergies treated?

If, after a thorough investigation a food allergy diagnosis has been made, the main treatment is of course to stop eating the foods in question. The desease can not be cured medically, but it may possible to alleviate the symptoms by different measures. Typically antihistamines are used to alleviate the itching. But it is doubtful whether the anti-histaminerne have a preventive effect.

No related posts.

What is food allergy?

Food allergy is an allergic reaction, that is a hypersensitivity reaction to something in the food, which we can not tolerate.
Food allergy is not the same as food intolerance, which is something quite different. In both cases you get symptoms when you eat a certain food in a normal or small quantity, so it can be easily confused.

Food allergies are actually very rare. Many refrain from eating things that they mistakenly believe they are hypersensitive to without being properly examined.
If you believe that you or your children suffer from food allergy, it is therefore very important to have the right diagnosis made, including a systematic review of diet and the symptoms. This is done best at one’s own doctor or a specialist in allergic diseases.

Why do you get food allergies?

In order to develop food allergies your immune systems must overreact to foreign proteins in the surroundings. The response must be carried out with specific IgE antibody. It is called a Type 1 allergy. Antibodies are the body’s antidote to foreign substances.

When exposed to proteins in foods, your body may develop specific IgE in such large quantities that it triggers an allergic reaction the next time you eat that particular type of food.

As a general rule you can not have an allergic reaction the first time you eat a new type of food. But this is only a qualified truth. Sometimes an allergic reaction is not due to a genuine food allergy, but to the fact that you already are allergic, for example to birch pollen. This phenomenon is called cross allergy.

Examples of food allergens

In principle, you can react allergic to all foods, but the most common allergens are:

• Seafood
• Milk
• Fish
• Soybeans
• Wheat
• Egg
• Nuts
• Fresh fruit
• Vegetables
• Peanuts

Cross reaction allergens

• Birch cross reacts with hazelnut and other nuts, apple, pear, cherry, walnut, almond, plum, kiwi, potato peel, tomato and carrot.
• Grass cross reacts with beans, lentils and green peas and peanuts.

How does food allergy feel?

The allergic reactions are very diverse and can start immediately after eating the food or may start several hours later. Typical symptoms are:

• Swollen lips, face and / or throat
• Tingling in the oral cavity and on the lips
• Vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea
• Headache
• Fatigue, irritability
• Hay fever
• Asthma
• Skin eruption, deterioration of child eczema, (atopic dermatitis), or hives
• Very rarely anaphylactic shock, which is a circulatory collapse that requires emergency treatment with epinephrine.

The symptoms may one time be mild, the next time be life-threatening because of Asphyxia or anaphylactic shock.
It is therefore important not to expose yourself for provocations, only because you “will not be a burden”.
If you feel starting shortness of breath, you must immediately under medical treatment. Call 911 if necessary.

What you can do to prevent food allergies?

• Pay attention to the things you are allergic to, and on whether any cross-reactions arise.
• Get advice of a specialist in allergic diseases (an allergist).
• Please note the symptoms and contact your doctor at the slightest doubt.

How does the doctor diagnosed food allergies?

The examination largely depends on how annoying the symptoms are.
Often it is possible to find another causes of the symptoms, such as the inability to digest certain foods (among other coeliac disease and laktose intolerance), non-immunological reactions (eg. histamine in shellfish) and minor food-poisoning. This is seen in about two percent of the population. It may also be a irritated colon or a chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract (ulcerosa colitis and Crohn’s disease) which can give similar symptoms.

If the symptoms are pronounced, and the suspected food allergy is justified, a proper clarification of what caused the disease will usually take place in a specialist in allergic diseases.

Allergy tests with, for example skin prick test or RAST (blood test) can be good to rule out allergies, but unfortunately, they often show reactions, which has no practical significance.

It is important that the allergy tests are made and examined by experts.

The allergist will often take you through the following program:

• Two weeks on a normal balanced diet, with a carefully diary on the diet and the possible reactions.
• If you during those two weeks observe relevant reactions, you should probably go ahead with a two-week period without the suspected food, where you keep a diary as before.
• If the symptoms improve significantly, is the next step a food provocation. To begin with an “open” provocation in which both you and the examiner knows what you are eating. If symptoms appear, you will then be exposed to a number of double-blind placebo-controlled food provocation (DBPCFC), where neither the examiner or you knows what kind of food you are eating

In order to be diagnosed with food allergies, you should in most cases, go through the program outlined above.

Possible deterioration

• Mucous membranes in the mouth and throat may swell so that breathing is troubled.
• Asthma attacks and / or anaphylactic shock may be triggered.
• It is getting increasingly difficult to get a proper nutritionally balanced diet.

Prospects for the future

Food allergy is a rare disease that primarily affects young children. Around three percent of young children are affected. Most grow from their allergy before the age of three years. Only about one percent of the adult population suffer from food allergies. Most of these can live a normal life with some limitations in their diet.

How are food allergies treated?

If, after a thorough investigation a food allergy diagnosis has been made, the main treatment is of course to stop eating the foods in question. The desease can not be cured medically, but it may possible to alleviate the symptoms by different measures. Typically antihistamines are used to alleviate the itching. But it is doubtful whether the anti-histaminerne have a preventive effect.

No related posts.