Food allergies are an immune system response that causes allergic reactions in people when they consume specific foods. Some people develop allergies at any age, while others only develop allergies later in life. Regardless of when you develop your symptoms, it is incredibly important to reach out to a good allergy specialist.

Which foods are the most common allergens?

In this article, we have put together a list of some foods that are most commonly recognized as allergens. These include:

Peanuts

Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies in children. It affects approximately 1% of children under the age of 3 years old. In adults, peanut allergy is much less common, affecting 0.5% of the population. Egg allergy is also very common among young children, with nearly 2% of children having egg allergies by the age of 4 years old. Milk allergy is another common childhood allergy, affecting up to 6% of infants. Wheat allergy is also quite common, affecting as many as 1% of children. Shellfish allergy is also fairly common, affecting up to 1% of children. Tree nut allergies affect between 0.3% and 0.8% of children. Fish allergy is rarer than other food allergies, affecting fewer than 0.1% of children.

Milk

If you suspect that your child has a food allergy, talk to your doctor right away. He or she will need to perform an elimination diet to determine whether there is a true allergy present. This means eliminating the suspected food from the diet for at least two weeks before reintroducing it to see if allergy symptoms occur again.

Wheat

Wheat contains gluten, a type of protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Gluten is responsible for causing celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine when consumed by people who are sensitive to gluten. People with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten because it triggers an immune response that damages the villi (the fingerlike projections) in the small intestine. This damage prevents nutrients from being absorbed into the bloodstream. Celiac disease affects approximately 1% of the population.

Eggs

Egg whites contain no protein, so they are not considered a complete source of protein. They do provide some essential amino acids, though, such as lysine, methionine, cysteine, tryptophan, and threonine. Egg yolks contain high levels of cholesterol, saturated fat, and dietary fiber. However, egg yolks also contain vitamins A, D, E, K, B12, and choline.

Shellfish

Other common food allergens include peanuts, eggs, milk, soy, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, and sesame seeds. These foods can also trigger other allergic reactions such as eczema, asthma, hives, and rashes. However, shellfish is not the only type of seafood that you can be allergic to. In fact, some people are also allergic to other types of fishes or food such as shrimps and prawns.

Conclusion

Everybody has a different response to allergens. While some people only develop a slight itch on their skin, others end up suffering from fatal allergic reactions that make it difficult to breath. Such conditions require a visit to the ER. Every year, countless people visit the ER in the US due to a flare up of their allergy symptoms. So, allergies are not uncommon at all.

If you are suffering from a food allergy but don’t know which foods are causing the problem, then it is time to talk to an allergy doctor. We suggest looking around for a good allergist. For that, try not to rush it and do your research properly by reading reviews on the internet. This will help you choose a decent doctor. However, sometimes you might want to talk to a doctor immediately depending on the severity of your symptoms.