Many people have allergy to foods for some reasons. Food allergy is an abnormal response to a food triggered by your body's immune system. The main function of the body's immune system is to identify and destroy bacteria and viruses. A food allergy is the result of the mistake of our immune system to target the food that we take in as a threat. What happens when you have a food allergy? The immune system produces an increase amount of antibody that fights the food allergen by releasing histamine and other chemicals. The chemicals that are released are the one that produces allergic reaction. That is why if you are sensitive to a certain allergen even tiny amount of food ingested can cause severe reactions.

Food allergy can cause serious illness and diseases. Tree nuts and peanuts are the most usual cause of allergic reactions that are fatal. This kind of reactions is called anaphylaxis. In adults, foods that trigger allergic reactions include the following: fish and shellfish specifically the shrimps, lobsters and crabs, tree nuts such as walnuts and also eggs.

Allergic reactions to food can sometimes cause severe illness or even death. Tree nuts and peanuts are the major causes of deadly allergic reactions called anaphylaxis. In most children, eggs, milk and peanuts are considered the problem foods. There are times that food intolerance is mistaken as food allergy. Our immune system is not responsible for the cause of the symptoms of food intolerance but these can look and feel like those that are caused by food allergy.

Allergic reaction to foods can affect parts of the body such as the skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system in serious cases. Reactions to food allergies can be mild, moderate to severe. Thousands of cases are reported of people going to hospitals for these reasons.

In order to avoid food allergies, be very careful on the kind of food that you eat. Always read the label of the food and make sure that they do not contain allergens. In dining out or eating in a restaurant, order foods that are allergen free. If you are in doubt of any food, play safe. Do not eat. Sometimes we cannot avoid eating problem foods. The best thing to do is to have ready medication all the time. For people who are first time to encounter this kind of problem, it is hard for them to cope with it. Managing this kind of problem in food allergy, you have to consider it as part of your routine. Later on, you will find eating as a pleasure even though you have to choose the kind of foods that you eat.