Disease Treatment Tips :: What Causes Allergies
What Causes Allergies: What Causes Food Allergies?
Finding out what causes allergies can be difficult at best. Try to identify your culprit foods. People with an immediate-onset allergy generally react to one or two foods, while those with a delayed-onset sensitivity may react to as many as 15.
Keep reading to learn how to find out what causes allergies and the body's allergic response.
Understanding the Allergic Response
When you have a food allergy, the immune system reacts by releasing antibodies, which attack the culprit food from white cells. Their attack releases other substances from white cells, such as histamine and leukotrienes, that cause inflammation. This inflammation results in the production of reactive oxygen particles (free radicals), which can damage the body.
The immune system may also manufacture antibodies. These “mop up” the food in the intestines, blood or elsewhere in the body, creating tiny particles called immune complexes. These can also lead to harmful physical effects.
With immediate-onset allergies, symptoms will appear within one to two hours of eating even a small amount of culprit food. They often manifest as hives, hay fever, asthma or swelling of the mouth, lips or respiratory tract.
With delayed-response allergic reactions, symptoms will appear up to 72 hours after eating the culprit food. They're usually provoked by eating a large amount of it or having it frequently.
What Causes Allergies
Keep a Food Diary
Keep a food diary for three months, recording everything you eat and any symptoms. This may allow you to identify an obvious relationship between a food and an adverse reaction.
Cut Out Suspect Food
If you suspect a certain food is causing your allergies, don't eat it for three weeks, then reintroduce it to see if it causes problems. If it does, then you've pinpointed your allergy.
If this single-food elimination doesn't work, exclude all the most likely culprits for three weeks. Then try a small amount of one of these foods every four days to see if it triggers a reaction. However, if you are not knowledgeable about nutrition, don't attempt this exclusion diet without medical supervision.
Also, be aware that when you give up a food to which you are allergic, you may experience temporary withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, and irritability.
Omit the Allergy Food
Once you identify your culprit foods, you can omit them from your diet altogether, in which case all your symptoms should disappear within three to six months. Or, if you are not severely allergic, see whether you can eat a small amount once every four days or more without trouble.
You may need to exclude the culprit foods completely for six months before you gradually reintroduce them in this way.
By understanding your allergies, the type of allergy you have and seeing the relationship between what you eat and your allergies, you can find out what causes allergies.
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