It’s a story you seem to hear more and more frequently — someone goes to a restaurant, eats something that has been a regular part of his or her diet, and then suddenly experiences an allergic reaction.
From friends’ anecdotes to reports from highly experienced food allergy specialists, the trend is clear: Adult onset food allergies are becoming more and more common.
The Food Allergy Culprits
This uptick in adults with food allergies is unsurprising. Our diets are radically different from what they were a few decades ago. There are three major changes boosting the increase in adult food allergies.
First, we’re eating more processed foods than ever before. Today, roughly 60 percent of the average American’s diet is comprised of “ultra-processed” foods, which are loaded with preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, enriched wheat flour, partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, and other chemicals that wreak havoc on the body, causing inflammation and decreased immune system response.
We’re also eating fewer organic fruits, vegetables, and pasture-raised proteins. This leads to a depletion of nutrients that are essential to maintaining a healthy digestive tract and repairing cells.
Finally, most Americans now eat a limited diet that includes just 10 different ingredients. Limiting food variety and ingredients combined with the additives in processed foods causes a type of gastrointestinal inflammation called “leaky gut syndrome.” Over time, leaky gut syndrome may increase a person’s chance of developing a food allergy.
Avoiding an Untimely Surprise
While allergies differ in form and severity, a few common symptoms are hives or whelps, vomiting, tongue or lip swelling, or even anaphylaxis, which can result in death. Many people have no idea that they’ve developed a food allergy until one of these unpleasant symptoms rears its head in the middle of a meal. The best way to avoid this situation is to get out ahead of it and get tested for allergies.
Here are four ways to determine whether you have allergies before finding out the hard way:
- Family History: While food allergies aren’t necessarily hereditary, family history can be a good indicator. Ask your parents and siblings if they have allergies, and keep it in mind when ordering at restaurants.
- Allergy Skin Test: This is a test where an immunologist pricks the skin with a dozen or so potential allergens in a specific spot. The doctor then waits about 20 minutes before assessing the prick site for any visible irritations. If you have an allergy to a specific food, the prick site will become irritated and inflamed.
- Blood Test: An immunologist will test your blood to see how it reacts to different allergens. When your blood is tested, the physician is looking for an increase in a specific antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE). If you’re allergic to peanuts, for example, your blood will produce more IgE when peanut proteins are introduced.
- Oral Food Test: This test is the most extreme and should only be performed under medical supervision. It involves having doctors provide you with a small amount of a particular food, and then watching how your body reacts over time.
Living with a Food Allergy
Once you’ve discovered a food allergy, there are a few things you can do to ensure you avoid an emergency reaction while going out to eat.
Avoid fast food or chain restaurants. Their low-quality ingredients and the cross-contamination of potential allergens due to poor training and handling of foods can make these types of restaurants a nightmare for anyone with food allergies.
Don’t be afraid to tell your server that you have a food allergy. In most cases, especially in mid- to upscale restaurants, servers will either give this information directly to the chef, or the chef will speak with you personally.
And if you know that you have a severe food allergy, you should always have an epinephrine auto-injector with you. For many people, this can be the difference between life and death.
If you don’t have a food allergy, do what you can to avoid developing one. Cut out the processed junk, eat organic and pasture-raised foods, and make sure your diet includes a diverse range of ingredients.
Not only will it ensure that you can continue to enjoy your favorite foods, but it can also save you from potentially life-threatening surprises.
