Saturday, June 1, 2013

An in depth review of food allergies

By Arthur Marks


Food allergies are perhaps some the most overlooked ailments that mankind can suffer from. These disorders which are often rampant in growing children deserve a lot of attention as their side effects can at times border on the extreme. These affect more and more people now so we can look at the facts around them.

These are normally triggered by the body's immune system reaction to the seemingly innocuous ingestion of certain foods. This system normally produces "suitable" antibodies to counter the effects such foods in the digestive system, and sometimes even contact with them. It does so by releasing certain chemicals like histamine to guard the body from the effects of the food allergen, which happens to be the detrimental substance found in specific foods. This in turn produces the various outward or inward manifestations of food allergies

Food allergies are notably widespread among the younger generation, and according to statistics gathered by the US's food and drug administration (FDA) approximately 6% of children below the age of 3 in that specific country are struggling with food allergies. This same situation is significantly lower with grown ups.

There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud of shocking statistics in that most of these children usually outgrow these eating disorders. For instance it is noted that out of all children that are allergic to milk, 80% of them shake off this disorder when they grow up. While 2/3 of those who can't eat eggs, and 80% of those who can't partake of wheat or soy foods normally outgrow these allergies by the time they reach 5 years.

However, it is sad to note peanut ailments are apparently very stubborn with a paltry of 20% 0f children outgrowing them. Conversely, there happen to be other food allergies that develop later on in life, and are seldom outgrown. These include fish or shellfish allergies that stubbornly affect the lives of their sufferers.

Like earlier mentioned, food allergies manifest themselves in a wide array of symptoms some mild, while others happen to be quite severe, and they often vary from one person to the other.

Food allergies often affect some of the most critical systems and organs in the body, which include the digestive tract, respiratory system, and the most prevalent kinds affect the skin. The milder forms of these disorders are often characterized by abnormal swellings, abdominal aches, respiratory problems, and the like.

These manifestations normally comprise of itchy body rashes, swollen tongues, lips or even throat glands, abdominal cramps, and sometimes poor respirationIt has also been found out that food allergies can have serious repercussions, which are often tagged anaphylactic, and these often involve two or more of these systems malfunctioning, and if not checked can prove to be fatal. Persons suffering from such cases exhibit symptoms like inflammation of the airways, breathing troubles, sudden drops in blood pressure, unconsciousness, and in extreme cases death.




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