Food Allergies on the Rise

While we're always looking to optimize good health with food, for more than 10 million Americans, certain foods can be health damaging. That's what's known as a food allergy.

For both children and adults, food allergies are on the rise, particularly peanuts. Plus, "gluten-free" bakeries are popping up throughout the country and many restaurants (even big chains!) now have dining options for people with food allergies.

What's all of this about and why is the incidence skyrocketing for some of the major offenders? Perhaps, more importantly, what should you do if it strikes you or someone you know? My Today Show segment addressed this important topic, which has a lot of people confused.

The "big 8" of food allergies are: Eggs, peanuts, milk, soy, shellfish (shrimp, scallops), tree nuts (walnuts, almonds), fin fish, and gluten (wheat, barley, rye). While allergies can be found for any food, these are the most common.

To shed some light on this confusing area, I'd like to share some questions my patients frequently ask about food allergies.

What is a food allergy?

A food allergy occurs when the body perceives a harmful substance has entered, creating an immune system response. Certain chemicals, including "histamines," are part of this response, resulting in a variety of symptoms including rashes and respiratory problems. (Think "anti-histamines" that are well known to fight some allergic responses.)

What are the causes of a food allergy?

While the specific causes of food allergies are unknown, there are a few theories out there to consider:

1. The global food supply: With food coming from all over the world, there might be allergens in these new food sources, causing a response in some people.
2. Unrecognized allergens occurring in processed foods.
3. Feeding babies certain foods before three months.
4. Concern with hygiene: Too many antibacterial products don't expose the immune system to enough "challenges," making some people more susceptible to a response.

How do I know if I have a food allergy?

A food allergy comes on quickly, within minutes, not hours. The response is always the same–Rash, swelling, respiratory problems, or gastrointestinal problems.

It's important to recognize this pattern early, as a mild response often triggers a more severe response with later exposure to the offending foods.

Can food allergies be cured?

Food allergies can be managed by avoiding the offending food and seeking treatment by an allergist, who can help with "desensitization" treatments. (Don't try this at home!) Sometimes children outgrow allergies like eggs and milk, but peanut allergies seem to be lifelong.

What is a gluten allergy?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It's not technically an "allergy," but can damage the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of people with celiac disease (about 1 in 100 people). Others have a sensitivity to gluten, with a variety of GI symptoms.

The growth of gluten-free bakeries and special menus sections of gluten-free items in restaurants have risen with the increasing awareness of this problem.

What are lifestyle changes I can make to minimize my risk of an allergic reaction?

Keep a food log to monitor your body's response, if you suspect a food allergy. Check with your primary care doctor, who can help you locate an allergist for further testing and treatment if needed.

Read labels carefully. New government guidelines require packages to have "easy language," as in "contains milk" or "contains wheat," instead of technical terms that are confusing. Ask about ingredients in restaurants, and inquire among your friends and family when eating away from home.

Food allergies can be managed by taking action. It's important to address this with your doctor, as severe allergic responses can be life threatening. That's why many people are given an "EpiPen," an automatic single injection of epinephrine (an antidote to the allergic response that can block breathing) that a person can self-administer in case of a severe respiratory response.

What have your personal experiences been living with food allergies? What other questions or comments do you have?

Watch the Food Allergies on the Rise segment from TODAY:

Comments

I was disappointed on your segment regarding food allergies. My 17 year old son is extremely allergice to peanuts. Dr. Fernstrom's reply to - "what are the signs" was incomplete. Our first sign was that our son had eczema all over his body when he was an infant. Unfortunately I was consuming a lot of peanut products during my pregnacy and while breast feeding. This is to be believed why my son developed such a sever allergy. His eczerma was our first sign of an allergy. I would suggest you contact the FAAN for a complete education so you can better inform your viewing audience. Dr. Sampson is involved in this organization and is an expert in the field. You should have spent more time with his interview!

Regarding product labeling, we still have a long way to go regarding labeling to help those with Celiac Disease. Sure it helps having a label state when something contains wheat, but living gluten-free requires avoidance of ALL gluten, which comes from sources besides wheat.

I recently made a trip to England, and I was absolutely impressed by how clearly many of the products in grocery stores stated whether a product was suitable for Celiac (Coeliac in UK spelling) sufferers and gluten-free diets. I look forward to that type of clear labeling here in the USA, and just wonder how many years it will be until that happens.

I am glad that as a society we are recognizing food allergies and I have been so pleased with restaurants participating in helping us read ingredients for the allergies my son has. My son is allergic to wheat, peanuts, chocolate and corn. His reaction is, thank God, not life threatening. However, it is also not talked about. Whenever he eats something with wheat in it he becomes very agitated; when he eats corn he becomes extremely hyper. In fact, when we had him tested for the corn allergy, within seconds he went from sitting down playing a board game calmly to rolling on the ground and laughing very loudly and out of control. I feel like since his reaction is not "typical" it is dismissed. I would love for someone to do some reasearch on this a-typical type of a reaction to see if in fact it might be more typical than recognized (i.e. an underlining cause for ADHD).I'm hoping that the FDA will soon make label reading more friendly where it would read contains wheat, peanuts, corn etc.

Thank you for your piece on the Today Show this morning. Our son, age 3, is allergic to 13 foods. Food allergies do not run in our families. We live in fear every day that he will come in contact with something to which he might have a life-threatening reaction. That said, we try our best to give our child a balance of vigilance and normalcy.

Unfortunately there is wide confusion between a food intolerance and an allergy. Thank you for helping to make others aware of the seriousness of food allergies.

After an elimination diet 18 months ago, I was diagnosed with an intolerance to gluten. As a result of now avoiding all gluten products, I have lost over 20lbs and stay symptom free. Both my cholesterol and blood pressure also dropped dramatically. I should mention that prior to 10 years ago, I was fit, of a normal weight and ate a VERY healthy diet. You did not discuss why at the age of 62, I would suddenly have this problem. Why do adults suddenly develop food allergies after years of eating a certain foods?

My son is allergic to six common foods, one being milk, of which he is anaphalactic. Your segment was interesting and I am always looking for new information, however, I felt it was somewhat incomplete for anyone who isn't already pretty well-versed on allergies. I appreciated that the first part of the segment tried to show how serious food allergies can become.
In the second part, however, I felt as though parents could be misled. When asked what to look for, the recommendation was to keep a food log. Online more info. was provided, but on the show too much info. was left out. At the mere thought there might be some kind of reaction, you need to contact a doctor, as the next time your child ingests that same food, the reaction could be much worse and perhaps life-threatening. Food allergies are still new to so many people and people do not yet understand how scary they can be.
I thank you for your segment and look forward to more detailed information in future segments.

I sincerely appreciate you doing a segment on Food Allergies and how they can be life threatening. My 4 yr old is highly allergic peanuts and carries an epi-pen with him at all times.

Unlike other most other conditions, until there is a cure, awareness can make a difference. Other parents think we are obsessive, yes we are, and we have to be. The more people know and understand the safer my son is.

I disagree with the final comment that you can live a “perfectly normal” life. We feel that we are fortunate to have 2 wonderful sons but I would not call us normal! It is amazing even at their young ages the difference in safety for our 4 yr old with allergies and our 2 yr old who has none.

No birthday cakes at parties, few restaurants, carries on snack to pre-school while everyone else has group snack. Many children are places at a special table away from their peers during lunch, must carry epi-pen everywhere that cannot be left in the heat . . .

I just watch your segment on food allergies and was please to see the attention it is getting. I am asking for help with a very challenging situation for many parents. Our 2 1/2 year old son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy when he was 1 year old. The info in your segment was helpful however it was very brief and just the top of the surface. I am asking for help in getting the word out to the general public and how they can help. We watch ours sons food intake very closely we have his EpiPen close at hand at all times. The challenge comes at birthday partys or anytime someone offers him an "innocent snack". At his age it is hard for him to understand he can't just eat what other childern are eating such as granola bars, M&M's and bakery where there is large risk of peanut contamination.

PLEASE DON'T OFFER ANY FOOD TO ANY CHILD without checking with there parents or caregiver first.

Thank you

I just appeared on San Antonio Living this morning about this topic. My son is anaphylactic to milk & beef. Although I didn't see the segment (I hope to find it online somewhere) I'm thankful that you've given it attention. It's growing and growing fast. So many people don't realize that it's an auto-immune disease and it can cause death. Awareness and education are key!

At age 43 I have lived with an allergy to all nuts, not just peanuts. My parents found out how bad it was when I was ten and went trick or treating. A candy bar at that time did not have all the indgredients listed and I was rushed to the hospital. It wasn't till I was in my twenties that a form of the epi pen came out. I've had more accidents in restaurants where the staff is uneducated as to what is in an item. I'm glad to see more recognition to this growing problem. For parents I suggest educating your child as much as possible but always be prepared for an accident.

Will you please post the video of this morning's food allergy segment. Thank you.

Thanks for adding the video!

I have a grandson who is highly alergic to peanuts. He was diagnosed at age 2 when someone innocently gave him a peanut butter cookie and we had to rush him to emergency. He is now 9 years old and is very aware of his allergy. We carry and epi at all times and always ask about ingredients in restaurants and we always check labels of the products we buy. People are becoming more aware of these deadly allergies but it is amazing how some times they give no thought at all about the alergic child. For instance, the Blue Bajou Restaurant in Disneyland in Anaheim was one of my grandson's favorite places to eat. Now he is disappointed because we can no longer take the cahnce to go there as they added deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to their menu. Not only is this a grease laden unhealthly food for all children but totally excludes children with peanut allergies. By the way we home schooled my grandson to further protect him and have found many others do the same.

My son is 2-1/2 and was diagnosed 4 months ago w/ a peanut allergy, he too has excema . The blood test showed mildly allegic to milk and eggs, highly to peanuts. The skin test showed just peanuts. I had him on soy then took him off to try milk after the skin test showed just peanuts his skin was awful! So he is back on soy, seems to help.

As the parent of a child with a Life Threatening Allergy to peanuts and nuts and moderate allergies to milk, egg and soy, I would like to thank you for this morning’s segment. While there were some things that I as parent would have liked to add, I was delighted to see this attempt to educate the public to the dangers of food allergies. I find that many people view allergies as a nuisance without realizing that they can in fact be deadly. Many people just don’t understand that a food that may be ok or even healthy for the most people is literally poison for someone with an allergy.

I would like to encourage you to continue making similar segments. If you chose to make a fallow up segment, I suggest that you explore some of the following information to include? (I had to leave before the segment was complete so some of this may have been covered but it is important enough it’s worth repeating.)

1. A person with a food allergy does not have to ingest the food to react. Contact with residue and in some cases inhaling the substance is enough to trigger a reaction.

2. The Epi Pen alone is not enough to save a life. It buys time for the person to receive emergency treatment. Some individuals have died even after having received the Epi Pen injection.

3. The first indicator that a young child is developing food allergies is wide spread eczema. Young children with persistent eczema should see a pediatric allergist.

4. Food allergies CAN develop in older children, teens and adults.

I would like to SECOND the statement by a previous poster. NEVER OFFER OR GIVE FOOD TO ANY CHILD WITHOUT CHECKING WITH THE PARENT FIRST.

Thank you very much for taking the time to clarify this critical issue,

I need to correct an error in a statement I previously posted above.

Point number 3 was intended to read: The first indicator that a young child is developing food allergies is SOMETIMES wide spread eczema.

One missing word can make a lot of difference in meaning and I do not wish to misinform anyone.

Thanks so much for your segment on food allergies this morning.

I have a son, who is almost 6, who has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and kiwi fruit.

Your segment was informative, however, it would really hit home to more people and make people more aware if you were to do a "Day in the Life"-type segment about someone living with food allergies or about their caretakers.

For example, you could cover how time-consuming and labor-intensive it is to grocery shop (reading labels), what it's like for a child to attend a birthday party and not be able to have the cake due to cross-contamination, what special services we have to ask airlines for (peanut-free flights), finding a school to cooperate with your "safety plan", how to handle play-dates safely, how to eat at a restaurant, how to handle a holiday, etc. These events that are commonplace in the life of any child (or adult for that matter) can be a nightmare for a food-allergic individual. Please consider going more in-depth. Thx!

From the report:
"The response is always the same–Rash, swelling, respiratory problems, or gastrointestinal problems."

This has not been the experience of our daughter, now 13, allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. She sometimes does not have a rash.

My question to Dr. Fernstrom is~ what is the source (i.e. medical study) she used that stated symptoms are always the same. Would she please provide it? And my question to others here is, do your children "always" have the exact same symptoms? Or does anyone else's child sometimes not have one particular symptom, such as a rash?

Thank you.

Gail,

What symptoms does you daughter have?

Thank you for putting the segment out as some coverage is better than no coverage at all. I say this because I don't think that the segment grasped the magnitude of true anaphylatic allergies. The comment at the end that said we could live a normal life is hardly true. My kids are severely allergic to eggs, dairy, peanuts, and tree nuts and we never get to have pizza night, we can't go to movie theaters, and birthday parties are a life threatening event.
Please think about doing another longer segment that really dives into the true hardships that allergic people face. Until there is a cure, we really need awareness out there to keep allergic people from losing their lives!!

My son (2yrs) always reacts differently. Our first indication was severe persistent eczema which I suppose would fall under rash but I don’t think any parent who has dealt with eczema like this would call it a rash. His first identified peanut reaction was to turn red and itchy from head to foot. The second was a GI reaction with no sign of a rash. He screamed all night from cramps and diarrhea. The scary thing is, at the time we had no idea about GI reactions and did not realize what was happening to him. We found out from his allergist later that he should have been taken to the ER. We could have killed him because we were uninformed. Since then he has had hives spread over his hands from grabbing the crust of a PB&J sandwich and hives all over from PLAIN M & M Minis.

For us the trace or invisible nuts are most dangerous. People who would never think of handing him a PB&J might give him an M&M cookie or a cupcake that came from the same bakery shelf as a pecan covered cake thinking they are safe.

Thank you for the food allergy segment on the Today Show. I understand the segments are short and you have to pick and choose what you say. It would be great to see a segment following a parent or garegiver of a child with food allergies. My five-year-old son has life-threatening food allergies to peanuts and tree nuts and moderate allergies to egg, coconut and soy. He starts kindergarten tomorrow. I know we do not live in a peanut free world, but it would be really nice if other parents would send snacks other than snacks loaded with peanut butter to school with their children. I grew up eating peanut butter everyday, but now so many children are affected by food allergies and could loose their lives over eating the wrong food. Please be compassionate for the children and for mothers like me who hope and pray their child has a safe day at school.

I appreciate your segment on food allergies.

However, I don't agree with your words that, "A food allergy comes on quickly, within minutes, not hours." It is a known fact that a reaction can take up to four hours after ingestion.

I have adult onset peanut allergy. Years ago, it would take a couple of hours before I had a reaction. Now it takes just a couple of minutes.

I think your words are misleading - and could cause someone not to suspect a food allergy if it doesn't make them sick within minutes.

However, I am grateful that you took the time to spread the word about food allergies. Thanks.

I have very unusual allergies - carrots, celery, and the standard peanuts and tree nuts. The first two seem to sometimes be unavoidable. They are cooked into almost everything, even spaghetti sauce. As a baby I stopped eating veggies, only to have Mom grate them up "for my health" and for her "fussy eater." Little did she realize. As an adult I learned I cannot even prepare them for my family. Hubby does the salads now. My doctor said the 'baby me' stopped eating these items because they left me so ill. Traveling is difficult. In Russia, I carried a laminated form in English and Russian stating foods I could not have. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes not. Even in the US, waiters tell me there are no carrots and voila! there they are, big as life! At this point in my life, just the smell of celery can trigger the reaction. Folks think I am nuts, but having your throat close, white of your eyes swell and hives form is no fun.

We have a 17 year old son and have lived with his severe allergy to peanuts and tree nuts since he was one. We have tried to protect him all of his life and are now entering the most dangerous time- he will be leaving for college. Two months ago we were eating at a restaurant and he had a reaction after one bite of food. We were assured that the food did not contain peanuts but it must have become contaminated. He gave himself a twinjet shot and got into the car to go to the hospital. He had a severe shaking reaction to the shot and we learned that he should never try and drive himself. Give the shot and call an ambulance. Another huge issue to consider is traveling. We live in Atlanta and Delta is the main airline. They serve peanuts on their flights and refuse to stop. We recently took a 14 hour flight from Rome to Atl with a flight crew who served peanuts and then touched the drinks and food with the same hands. He could not eat or drink for 14 ours. It was frightening and they could care less. Help!

Good site! Good resources here, All the best!

I was very pleased to see a segment on Today about food allergies. I recently discovered that I am allergic to many foods that I have eaten my entire life but now at 26, I can no longer consume them. In the future though, you should focus on adults and children. It seems like you're only focusing on children when allergies affect peopleof all ages!

I think a follow up is needed too - a closer look at "a day in the life" of an allergic person or caregiver. My daughter is 19 months and I've been managing her milk, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, beef, bananas AND Garlic allergies since she was 7 months. Also, it is so frustrating when others might shrug it off by saying "oh they usually grow out of it" as if it's not such a big deal. As you can see here in this commentary, many kids are NOT growing out of major allergies and it's very difficult on a day to day basis. It might also be interesting to see someone highlight that many families are caring for other non allergic children as well, as in my house, and many days I have to provide 2-3 menus at each meal and snack time.

I have had anaphylactic food allergies to dairy, eggs, and potatoes since birth, my first reaction occurring at the age of 6 months. For me, the single most frustrating thing about my allergies is that people never believe they are serious because "you're not allergic to peanuts"! My allergist claims I have the most severe allergies he's ever seen. People are so concerned about banning peanuts from schools and public places, but in truth, there are so many other allergens that could kill someone. When I went to school, the peanut butter cookies I ate were banned (they were the only cookies I was not allergic to), yet the other children in my class ate cookies that could have killed me everyday. I think we really need to raise awareness about anaphylactic allergies to foods other than peanuts.

For the past 4 years I had been consuming dairy products on a daily basis, sometimes up to 3-4 times a day. Over the course of those four years, I developed a severe case of acne and eczema on my face and back. At first I thought it was a cooincidence and started trying every acne and/or eczema medication/treatment on the market. Nothing was working. I went to see an herbalist since my doctor was not helping me. She suggested that I try to limit the amount of dairy I consumed and to eventually stop ingesting it for 2 weeks to see what happened. My experiment revealed an interesting result: my acne/eczema cleared within days. After the two weeks, I tried having a glass of milk and almost immediately my face became so itchy I thought I was going to scream. The next day, a severe breakout on my face and back again. Since then, I have done my best to avoid dairy (though I love cheese and ice cream) and have identified the circumstances of my reactions...

For the past 4 years I had been consuming dairy products on a daily basis, sometimes up to 3-4 times a day. Over the course of those four years, I developed a severe case of acne and eczema on my face and back. At first I thought it was a cooincidence and started trying every acne and/or eczema medication/treatment on the market. Nothing was working. I went to see an herbalist since my doctor was not helping me. She suggested that I try to limit the amount of dairy I consumed and to eventually stop ingesting it for 2 weeks to see what happened. My experiment revealed an interesting result: my acne/eczema cleared within days. After the two weeks, I tried having a glass of milk and almost immediately my face became so itchy I thought I was going to scream. The next day, a severe breakout on my face and back again. Since then, I have done my best to avoid dairy (though I love cheese and ice cream) and have identified the circumstances of my reactions...

I can eat small amounts of cultured dairy products without any reaction.

Additionally, I have discovered a yeast and sulfer/sulfite allergy.

This information is very much needed. At age 18 I began college and suddenly developed rashes and severe stomach pains and G1 symptoms(didn't know that was what it was at that time). Virtually everything I ate made me ill. It was my first tast of freedom from the way my Mom fed us kids all my life and I was eating a lot of foods that hadn't been in my diet much before. I talked to my doctor about it whom said that it was most likely a milk allergy similar to the one I had had as an infant. Since childhood, I have always avoided milk products so I knew that wasn't it. He said that it was a lot of trouble to get tested for allergies and painful, and not always accurate (basically not worth it). I did my research though and I suspect that along with my milk allergy I must have an allergy to products high in gluten. In the last three months (at age 20) I have put myself on a restrictive diet, containing very little gluten and very little milk. I have lost 20 pounds, and feel 100 times better.

Thanks for reporting on food allergies-
the more we educate the country about the seriousness of this disease the better.
Check out www.foodallergyproject.org for more info.

My daughter (now 5) had mildly intense allergies to nuts when she was younger. But there's hope! She can now eat PBJ sandwiches and other foods containing nuts with on problems so it looks like she's developed a tolerance and may have grown out of the allergies. We still almost always avoid nuts and keep a very close eye on her when she has anything potentially containing nuts.

You stated that a food allergy happens within minutes, not hours, but I have a corn allergy ( corn starch, corn syrup, corn flour, corn meal, etc.) and I have had reations up to six hours after eating foods containing a corn product. The reaction is always traceable to a specific food in which there was a corn derivative.

This is a sign that our species needs to seriously cut back on our drastic overpopulation. Whenever a herd starts damaging it's ecosystem, nature adapts to defend itself and as such new bacteria and viruses appear to thin the herd. This is just one example of this happening right before our eyes.

It's sad that it's happening and I hope people better educate themselves on their health but problems like this are only going to keep rising right in line with our population. Nature is what it is and it may seem cruel, but that's nature. I mean, look at the starving children in Africa, do you think food allergies exist over there? Nope. Why? Overconsumption of food is not something they have to worry about and thus nature doesn't adapt to take them out via that channel. Instead over there, nature uses the opposite, droughts, famine and contagious disease. Stop the overpopulation, the gluttony and excess and you'll start seeing these "allergies" declining as well. It's all about natural balances people.

Reading about the latest death recalls to me the instance of a college freshman who celebrated her teams lacrosse victory by having chili with her team mates and dying as the result of the resaurant adding peanuts to the chili mix.Purveyors of food products and restaurants should be required to tell consumers/customers when nuts are added to food.Who would have thought you can die from chili??

I had a severe allergic reaction to Garlic when I turned 25yrs old. Since then I have been told by my allergist that I am now allergic to Sesame seeds, Beef, Milk, Cheese, and Garlic. I am now, 32yrs old and whenever I go to the store I have to label read EVERYTHING! This life is not normal, and at times truly overwhelming. It would be great to have a story show just how hard this life is.

Thank you for mentioning the fantastic nut- and dairy-free company Divvies on your website this morning. We've been big fans of Divvies -- they are a wonderful company with delicious fresh-baked products. They've really helped bring kids with and without food allergies together! www.divvies.com.

We just ordered our Divvies for Halloween. You're right, they are great. It's nice to know there's a company out there looking out for us!

What is it in peanuts that cause allergies??? They are not a nut but a legume. You would think that all legumes such as beans and lentils would also be trouble. Are they?

My food allergies are mostly caused by damage to the intestinal tract by Celiac Disease. My food allergies cause sinus, nose, throat, eye and lung problems. My ears turn red. I have body odor, too. I don't have access to TV so I can't see any shows. I read everything I can get my paws on because gluten ingestion aggravated SL and DLE. My mother's family has SL and DLE, CD, RA, Raynaud's, Vitiligo, severe asthma and diabetes. The line with the problems came from Ireland. I can trace it back to James Shera b 1840's who died in his 40's, most likely from adult onset diabetes. My father has constant sinus drainage from foods he eats. My mother has miagraines; my sister has ocular migraines. My brother suffered from ADHD as a child due to food coloring, sugar and processed flour. I am allergic to salt, cow and water buffalo milk, chilis and peanuts. I had to get rid of chemicals. Add to that the type O blood diet and there is much for me to avoid.

Everyone needs to be vigilant about food allergies. After eating everything all my life, at age 65 I developed analphylactic reactions to peanuts, soy, coconut, sesame and their oils. For several years I had periodically had an itchy red face, then the big reactions occurred and I had both skin and blood tests. I learned that peanuts and soy have a high percentage of cross-allergy. Now I have to ask in every restaurant and bakery exactly what oil is used in their cooking -- consider how many products contain soy bean oil! most breads, cookies, soups, even ice creams, and almost all margarines. Most restaurant staff only know they use "vegetable oil" and have to further read the containers. Many fast food places, including Starbuck, get their products from a central source and have no way of knowing the ingredients. Asking and reading labels has been a life saving necessity.

One allergy that hasn't been mentioned and is very common and ranges from mild to severe though not life threatening is MSG allergy. This is such a common additive and it may be present through other items and not labeled as MSG. My daughter is extremely sensitive and we have changed how we eat and where we go because of this.

I am living proof of the delayed onset of symptoms. My reactions to rum don't start for at least 24 hours, and last 3-4 days.

To J who posted yesterday-
I know this might sound harsh but people who had allergies in the past would not have died before they had children, and you didn't get to be picky about your diet. Modern medicine keeps them alive long enough to pass their genes on, which is why there has been an allergy boom.

Sorry about my wording, I meant to say they WOULD HAVE died.

MY son will soon be 4 yrs old & has severe reaction to dairy & gluten. Its hard to find snacks with dairy free & gluten free.The information I read above was really useful.thank U

I was diagnosed with a moderate allergy to peanuts at the age of 48. And yes Toni K., peanuts are a legume. I have been advised by my allergist to avoid all legumes, including soy nuts, soy bean oil, beans, licorice,etc. I have since started reading labels more, and eating a healthier diet with more organic vegetables, fresh meats,and avoiding processed foods as much as possible.

Im about four weeks pregnant and i have to undergo a ankle surgory. i was wondering if the gas that doctors use to put patients out will harm my child.

my daughter has allergies to pork,and poultrey when she was little she was allergic to so many foods that she has out grew know she is 17 and we don't think she will ever out grow those three.

im allergic to flour wheat nuts milk.. HELP what can i fix to eat? :(

Hey,
I really like reading your article. I have a food allergy myself as well. I created a useful document with…….10000 food products…I thought your visitors might find it useful. Feel free to post it up on your website. Perhaps you like to write a news article about it so that people can easily find this usefull information. You can dowload the pdf document here : http://www.4shared.com/file/33377341/56d342c7/Food-allergy-list.html

Regards,

Rik

Dr. Fernstorm!

Over the last 3 years, I have lost and maintained a weight loss of over 100lbs! You fitness tips on the NBC Today Show in addition to this blog are very helpful!