Food Allergies: October 2006 Archives

If some foods leave you feeling itchy and scratchy, queasy or sneezy, you're not alone. Millions of adults and children suffer from food allergies or intolerances.

The most common allergens affecting children are milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts such as walnuts and pecans. In adults, the most common are peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. Allergic reactions, such as hives, swelling of the throat and shortness of breath, result when the body's immune system sees food as an invader and produces an antibody against it. Children are more susceptible because their digestive systems are undeveloped and their immune systems are more often exposed to food proteins, says Andy Nish, an allergist. The exposure decreases as their bodies mature.

Children tend to outgrow allergies to milk, egg and soy, but once you develop a true food allergy as an adult, you are unlikely to outgrow it, Nish says. In addition, an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts is seldom outgrown, he says.

SINGAPORE: Cow's milk allergy is one of the most common childhood allergies but it is often misdiagnosed, say doctors.

It is believed that 3.5% of all children who have severe reactions to food are allergic to cow's milk.

Angry rashes plagued Charlotte Lum from the time she was just five weeks old.

Doctors she went to told her parents it was eczema.

The girl continued to suffer till she was three.

It's rare that you hear of someone dying from food allergies, but when it happens, it usually reaches national news. Why? Because food is something we eat every day - several times a day - and everyone should be aware of the dangers of food allergies. Some foods such as peanuts contain very strong allergens that are in the food and released into the air as well. That's why someone with severe food allergies must be extremely careful where and how they dine out.

Food Allergy Deaths

There are approximately 150 deaths related to food allergies in the United States each year. Food allergies are responsible for more deaths than insect bites as well as reactions to medicines.

If you are allergic to shellfish, you can end up in the hospital if you eat something with a protein found in shellfish.

So be sure to check the ingredient label of anything you eat. Here is a list of ingredients to avoid, courtesy of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital:

• Crab, crawfish, crayfish, ecrevisse.
• Any type of clam, including cherrystone, littleneck, pismo and quahog.
• Abalone.
• Lobster, langouste or langoustine, scampi, coral or tomalley.
• Mussels, oyster, scallops or any kind of mollusk.
• Shrimp, prawns or crevette.
• Cockle, periwinkle or sea urchin.

source

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning people with allergies to sesame seeds not to consume ENER-G brand Wylde Pretzels because the affected products may contain sesame seeds which is not declared on the label.
All "Best if used by" codes up to and including 5 1 2007 (i.e., May 1, 2007) of the following products made in the USA are affected by this alert:

1) ENER-G brand Wylde Pretzels sold in a 227 g package bearing UPC 0 75119 64725 5.
2) ENER-G brand Wylde Pretzels sold in a 113 g package bearing UPC 0 75119 64715 6.

MILWAUKEE - When Colleen Pfaff was a toddler, her father forgot to wash his hands after handling blue cheese for a salad, and lifted Colleen into the tub to give her a bath.

Hand-shaped welts immediately appeared on Colleen’s body. Her immune system had reacted to milk protein still on his hands.

The welts subsided after washing with soap and water. But it was a painful lesson in how little it can take to trigger an allergic reaction to food.

CHICAGO, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A "Multi-Lingual Phrase Passport" is part of the U.S. "Let's Eat Out! Your Passport to Living Gluten and Allergy Free" guide for those with food allergies.

The pocket-sized guide empowers travelers with food allergies, such as celiac -- an auto-immune disorder reflected in a permanent intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- and those following specialized diets to safely eat outside the home.

Emerald Coast consumers are cautioned to a product recall due to undeclared dairy ingredients in certain rice and pasta side-dish mixes.

Unilever of Englewood Cliffs, the New Jersey producer of Knorr®-Lipton® "Sides", has issued a voluntary recall on several of its paste and rice products because of an allergy alert on undeclared milk in certain mixes after two reports of consumers experiencing adverse reactions.

The products, all of which were manufactured in one facility, are listed below:

Once again I came across the opinion that germs-free environment is actually bad for children.

This topic was touched by the creators of website about vaccination hoax. You can read more here.

"Early exposure is needed to stimulate the immune system"

"The best means of preventing an allergy is mother's milk"

The original article is below

SYDNEY, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Australian researchers find that although soy infant formulas are used to avoid food allergies, there is no proof that soy formulas cut allergy risk.

"There is no evidence that using any type of formula is better than exclusive breastfeeding for prevention of allergy," said study authors Dr. David Osborn of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Dr. John Sinn of Westmead Hospital.

"Specialized formulas should be restricted to situations where infants cannot exclusively breastfeed or when an infant develops a specific food allergy or hypersensitivity."

I found two articles who contradict each other.

One is saying:

"Giving solid food to infants less than six months old is not advisable as it may lead to the risk of food allergies later and new moms should rather breastfeed them exclusively, scientists say.

Solid foods of all types should be avoided for the first six months, and certain items like cow's milk, eggs, fish, and nuts should not be introduced until even later, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)."

And another claims that

feeding the babies on cereals in the earlier part may be helpful to overcome the food allergies.

Read more and decide for yourself..

HP Hood began recalling some of its apple juice on Tuesday.

Company officials said the juice is being recalled because it may contain milk, which could cause an allergic reaction for people sensitive to dairy.

The recall affects plastic half gallon and pint containers of Hood 100% Apple Juice with the date Nov. 14 and a plant code of 2508 printed on it.

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - People who suffer from coeliac disease have an increased risk of developing tuberculosis, according to research published on Tuesday.

Coeliac disease (CD) is an illness caused by an intolerance to a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Swedish scientists who studied hospital discharge records from 1964 to 2003 found that patients diagnosed with coeliac disease were more likely to suffer from tuberculosis (TB).

By Stephen Daniells, 16 Oct 2006

Drinking the probiotic, fermented milk, kefir, decreased the allergic response to ovalbumin (egg white) in mice, and may offer hope to preventing food allergies, suggests a new study from Taiwan.

"Consumption of milk kefir and soymilk kefir suppressed [immune] response and altered the intestinal microflora in our supplemented group," wrote lead author Je-Ruei Liu from the National Taiwan University.

"Milk kefir and soymilk kefir may be considered among the more promising food components in terms of preventing food allergy and enhancement of mucosal resistance to gastrointestinal pathogen infection."

- asks Tony from new York, NY.

The humble carrot, familiar fare for Bugs Bunny and armies of school children, can be a dangerous, even lethal, snack for a small number of people. Heating the carrot, however, can render them harmless to the allergic, according to a recent study.

But how could a little heat turn a vegetable from deadly to delectable? And how can a wholesome carrot be dangerous in the first place?

By Diane Haag, 12 Oct 2006

In the whirlwind of activities that makes up the life of a 4-year-old boy, something flashes on Luke Babin's arm.

A medical alert bracelet proclaims that he's a little different from other boys who play soccer and watch Curious George.

"I'm allergic to dairy," Luke explains.

Luke is one of about 12 million Americans who suffer from some food allergy, and the numbers are growing.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Mills is voluntarily recalling 13-ounce boxes of Golden Grahams cereal produced on certain dates because of a product labeling issue. The product produced on the dates being recalled may contain milk, a potential allergen, though “milk” is not listed as an ingredient.

There has been one report of an allergic reaction associated with this product.

Consumers allergic to milk or milk products, or who are unsure of whether they are allergic to milk or milk products, should not consume product bearing the affected code dates and should contact General Mills for a full refund.

by Jack Prime, 11 Oct 2006

Lamb and pears may appear to be a strange combination, but the reason they are chosen as part of a food allergy diet is because they are rarely indicated in allergies and are therefore relatively safe foods for most people with a food allergy to eat.

Often the best way to treat a food allergy is to avoid the food that causes the allergy altogether so a period of exclusion gives your body a chance to tell you which foods are making you ill and whether you react to one food or many foods.

by Melissa Pasanen, Free Press, 10 Oct 2006

Munching on crisp croutons from a bowl on the kitchen table, 8-year-old Mariah Hanson waited impatiently for the supper she had helped make with her mom, Diane.

The lasagna and bread sticks were sending out good smells from the oven and the Caesar salad -- to be topped with any croutons that might remain -- was ready.

After Diane served her daughter a plate of lasagna and salad, Mariah carefully pushed them apart to prevent the two from touching: a typical kid move from a kid whose dietary needs are not all that typical.

Just more than 10 months ago, the Hanson family of South Burlington learned that the reason Mariah had endured almost three years of intermittent terrible stomachaches and bouts of extreme digestive upset was because her body cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

The potential of genetically engineered foods to cause allergic reactions in humans is a big reason for opposition to such crops. Although protocols are in place to ask questions about the allergy-causing possibilities, there has been no test that offers definitive answers.

But all of that could change as a Michigan State University researcher has developed the first animal model to test whether genetically engineered foods could cause human allergic reactions. Venu Gangur, MSU assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, has received a $447,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to validate the test.