What Are The Most Common Food Allergies?

Food allergies are one of the most common allergies in the world. Adults and children can suffer from common food allergy. There is a growing population of individuals with food allergies and there are speculations to the cause but no definite answers. Food allergy can disappear through age or plague you in your entire lifetime. With the help of medical science diagnosing and treating common food allergies have helped and saved the lives of many individuals and continue to do so.

General Information On Food Allergies

A food allergy is when someone has an allergic reaction to any type of food. These allergies can occur when a person inhales, eats, or even simply comes in contact with the food or food additive. In fact, tiny amounts can cause severely sensitive individuals to have an allergic reaction. Such allergic reactions can range from the very mild to the extreme and life threatening.

In the past decade, allergic reactions to food have increased exponentially. More and more adults and children are being diagnosed with peanut and tree nut allergies, fueling extensive research in the area of food allergies and treatments.

Common Food Allergy Information

Adults and children have different food allergies that are the most common food allergies for the demographic. For children, there is a relatively large list of common food allergies. The most common food allergies in children are cow's milk, chicken eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, and wheat. These are all items that are found in almost everyone's natural diet, and it can be very difficult to completely rid the diet of one or more of these items. Thankfully, due to the increase in these common food allergies, substitute foods are readily available.

In adults, the list of most common food allergies is slightly different. Adults are most commonly allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, much like children. However, other common food allergies include fish, shrimp, crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans, clams, oysters, mussels and other mollusks, fruits, and vegetables.

The severity of these common food allergies varies. For children, the most likely foods to cause severe reactions that are on the common food allergy list are peanuts, cow milk, chicken eggs, and tree nuts. Other items that are more uncommon but cause severe anaphylaxis reactions are vegetables, shellfish, and fish. In adults, the foods that are the most likely to cause severe reactions are peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

Common food allergies are usually detected at a very young age. Children are very susceptible to food allergies. Common food allergies in children may include cow's milk, chicken eggs, soybean and other nuts. This may differ in adults; food such as shellfish, certain fruits and vegetable may be the cause allergic reactions. As food allergies become prevalent so are the substitutes for them to help satisfy the publics appetite. Allergies to certain food may come and go depending on the individual's body. Food allergy testing is advised to know you allergies and the best course of treatment.

There is no telling right away what kind of food you are allergic to. If you feel you or your family member suffer from food allergy, have yourself and your family tested before things go wrong.