Could You Be Allergic?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
This week is Food Allergy Awareness Week, so I thought I would spend a few minutes talking about how serious food allergies can be. This was not an area of specialty for me, but if you have someone close to you with a food allergy, you can become an expert really quickly! I am a Girl Scout leader and one of my girls is allergic to peanuts so my awareness went up quite a bit several years ago when we met.
Only 1% of adults and 3% of children have an actual allergy to food. Children can often outgrow allergies, but adults do not. Many people think they are allergic, but it could be a different reaction that is not actually an allergy. If it is a true allergy, some can be mild and some can be very serious and even lead to death. Common reactions are hives, eczema, or asthma. In severe cases it can cause anaphylaxis, which is a drop in blood pressure that can cause shock to the body and ultimately death. Timing is everything when anaphylaxis is happening, and many people with severe allergies carry an EpiPen (shot of epinephrine).
8 Most Common food allergens:
Shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab)
Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts)
Fish
Eggs
Peanuts
Milk
Soy
Wheat
I think the scariest of these is the peanut allergy. Peanuts even in very, very small amounts can cause a reaction in those highly allergic. Many airlines have actually stopped serving peanuts because of some people having a reaction to the particles released in the air in a confined place. In addition, you may have seen packages that say, “Processed in a plant that manufactures peanuts.” M&M’s are an example of a food that do not contain peanuts in their plain variety, but because Peanut M&M’s are processed in the same facility, someone highly allergic should stay away from even the Plain M&M’s.
The good news for people who suffer from allergies is that food labels are now mandated by the FDA to list in common language if the food contains any of the eight most common allergens. Instead of saying “whey” which is a protein in milk, the label has to say, “contains milk” somewhere on the label. Usually you can find this info after the ingredient listing.
If you have a friend or family member who has an allergy, make sure that you read labels to see if what you are cooking or serving may unknowingly contain that allergen.
Only 1% of adults and 3% of children have an actual allergy to food. Children can often outgrow allergies, but adults do not. Many people think they are allergic, but it could be a different reaction that is not actually an allergy. If it is a true allergy, some can be mild and some can be very serious and even lead to death. Common reactions are hives, eczema, or asthma. In severe cases it can cause anaphylaxis, which is a drop in blood pressure that can cause shock to the body and ultimately death. Timing is everything when anaphylaxis is happening, and many people with severe allergies carry an EpiPen (shot of epinephrine).
8 Most Common food allergens:
Shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab)
Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts)
Fish
Eggs
Peanuts
Milk
Soy
Wheat
I think the scariest of these is the peanut allergy. Peanuts even in very, very small amounts can cause a reaction in those highly allergic. Many airlines have actually stopped serving peanuts because of some people having a reaction to the particles released in the air in a confined place. In addition, you may have seen packages that say, “Processed in a plant that manufactures peanuts.” M&M’s are an example of a food that do not contain peanuts in their plain variety, but because Peanut M&M’s are processed in the same facility, someone highly allergic should stay away from even the Plain M&M’s.
The good news for people who suffer from allergies is that food labels are now mandated by the FDA to list in common language if the food contains any of the eight most common allergens. Instead of saying “whey” which is a protein in milk, the label has to say, “contains milk” somewhere on the label. Usually you can find this info after the ingredient listing.
If you have a friend or family member who has an allergy, make sure that you read labels to see if what you are cooking or serving may unknowingly contain that allergen.
Be safe and read labels to keep everyone else safe, too!
Labels: food allergy, Tara Gidus
4 Comments:
At Sat May 19, 08:46:00 AM 2007,
Blair Ryan,RN,BSN said…
Thank you for sharing this info about allergies during National Allergy week. As a mother of a peanut allergic child it is a daily challenge to keep her safe. The new labeling laws have helped alot! We have to know every ingredient in my child's food before she can eat it! And when you receive this diagnosis it becomes a need to keep your child sfae to educate your friends and families and schools and church, etc. And so you become thankful for all those who try to help keep the allergic child safer.
Living with a peanut/nut allergy can make you feel very imposing onto others. Birthday parties and sleepover invitations are fewer because parents are afraid. My child must always bring an emergency bag with wipes, benadryl and an epipen in it wherever she goes...for the rest of her life. Asthma and allergies are on the rise. Studies have shown that food allergies in children have doubled in the last 5 years! So it is vital that our communities that we live in become more aware about how serious food allergies can be. Until researchers can find the cause and cure we appreciate all those who help keep their allergic friends safe.
Just a few weeks ago two National bills were introduced into Congress. S 1232 and H.R. 2063 are bills to create guidelines for our nation's schools on how to deal with food allergies. If you want to help keep children who have food allergies safer while they are in school please contact your legislatures and ask them to support these bills. Thank you again for bring a light on this important topic!
At Sat May 19, 07:12:00 PM 2007,
Jonathan Foulds, MA, MAppSci, PhD said…
I have a relative who has a "proper" allergy to peanuts, treenuts, sesame seeds, shellfish and uncooked egg-whites (all confirmed by testing). I just wanted to point out that a high proportion of people who are allergic to "peanuts" are also allergic to tree nuts [about a third] (other nuts like walnuts, almonds, cashews etc). I've noticed that when you tell someone your relative is allergic to nuts they often think "peanuts" rather than "all nuts". This is important as they may check the labelling of a food, see that it doesn't contain peanuts, and give the child a found containing almonds, with serious consequences.
The other point I'd like to make is that food manufacturers are more and more covering their risks by placing the statement "may contain traces of nuts" or "processed in a factory that also precesses nuts" on virtually everything they make. Now this may sound like a helpful warning, but when it reaches the point where almost every food has the warning it ceases being useful, and forces the allergic child to take risks or starve. I'd like to see organizations representing good dietry practices advocating that large manufacturers work to ensure that more of their products are intentionally made in a factory that has never processed nuts and says so on it (try buying any of the hundreds of Hersheys products without the warning). The label "Nut-free" would be far more helpful to those with nut allergies.
(ps nut allergy is the single largest cause of deaths due to food consumption).
At Tue May 22, 10:07:00 AM 2007,
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N said…
Thanks Blair and Jonathan for your comments! Yes, many people with peanut allergies are also allergic to tree nuts, but not everyone is. Peanuts are actually a legume while tree nuts are nuts. Similar proteins, though, and that is why people are allergic. If you test positive to peanuts, you should also get tested for tree nuts and also other legumes.
I also agree with Jonathan that too many manufacturers are "covering themselves" with the blanket statements regarding their processing of nuts and a lot of foods are safe for people with allergies to eat. Since the risk is so great, it is always best to avoid when in doubt, though.
Blair, thanks for letting us know about the two national bills in Congress! Hopefully more people will write their legislators in support of these very important bills.
At Tue Apr 08, 07:55:00 PM 2008,
mama o' the matrices said…
excellent timing. Food allergies come with a lot of myths (just a bite won't hurt you, only peanuts are life-threatening, it's all over-anxious parents), and it's good to see some of the myths addressed.
I'll be watching HR 2063 carefully. Food allergy is absurdly dangerous and hard to control in schools, but we've just got to figure out how to do it. There's a fair, balanced approach out there somewhere, and it starts with education.
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