In the last months it has become compulsory for food manufacturers to underline in the label the ingredients that may cause allergic reactions in some individuals.
Here are the 7 main food allergens, that is those which are more likely to cause an allergic reaction:
- 1. Eggs: it has been noted an increased incidence in the child which tends to decrease with increasing age. Egg proteins which are responsible for allergies are ovoalbumin, ovotransferrin and ovomucoid;
- 2. Crustaceans and molluscan shellfish: crustaceans (shrimps, lobsters and crabs) and molluscan shellfish (squid, octopus, oysters, cuttlefish, clams, seasnails and mussels) are in this category. Both of them can cause a pseudoallergic reaction. Molluscan shellfish are often responsible for toxic reactions.
- 3. Fish: this allergy is present in particular in countries with a greater consumption, in the North of Europe. It may occur for any species or for some of them, the most frequent are: cod, turbot, herrings, hake, tuna, sole and eel. Freshwater fish are tolerated in a better way than sea fish by allergic individuals. The clinical onset concerns the respiratory tract and the skin mostly.
- 4. Milk proteins: it is the most widespread allergy, in particular in early childhood. The most frequent symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea.
- 5. Fruit and vegetables: there are several foods in this category and they may result in allergic forms as bananas, pineapples, apples, kiwis, pears, blackberries, melons, avocados, citrus fruit, pawpaws, cherries, watermelons, grapes, mangos, garlic, courgettes, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, oregamo, cucumbers, marjoram and thime. Many of these foods have the same antigenic determiner so an individual can result to be allergic to one or more fruit/vegetables of the same family. Wrongly strawberries are considered an allergenic food.
- 6. Soy: it is more frequent in the Eastern countries for the widespread consumption.
- 7. Walnuts: it is a very frequent allergy and it includes almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pistachio nuts and Brazil nuts.
It is important to distinguish among allergies, pseudoallergies and intolerances that is based on the reactions of our body to the eaten food.
Allergies imply the involvement of the immune system and are caused even by a small quantity of food that is harmless for most individuals; pseudoallergies are similar to allergies but they do not involve immune mechanisms; food intolerances, on the contrary, are caused by enzyme deficiency*.
There are standardized tests which are recognised by the Scientific Community and they permit to verify the true presence of allergies to specific foods.
*from "Sportnutrition vol.2: Nutrition for sport and health".da "