Posted on 12/09/2022 4:20:22 PM PST by ConservativeMind
The prevalence of food allergies is increasing worldwide, approaching an epidemic level in some regions. In the U.S. alone, approximately 10% of children and adults suffer from food allergies, with allergies to cow's milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts being the most common. Some patients have mild symptoms that might not need medical attention, leaving these cases unreported.
Food allergies, or food hypersensitivities, result from the overreaction of the immune system to typically harmless proteins in food. They can manifest as a spectrum of symptoms, ranging from itching, redness and swelling for milder reactions, to vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and other potentially life-threatening symptoms for severe reactions.
Besides self-reporting, food allergies can be diagnosed by exposing patients to trace amounts of offending proteins, or allergens, via their mouth or skin and observing their immediate reactions. More commonly, doctors use blood tests to measure the levels of immunoglobulin E, or IgE, a specialized antibody that the immune system uses to identify allergens and trigger a response. Although healthy individuals may have low levels of IgE in the blood, patients with food allergies have much higher levels that increase their risk of having severe allergic reactions.
But some people who test positive on skin-prick allergy tests with moderate increases in IgE don't notice any allergy-related symptoms when they eat the allergen. This condition is sometimes referred to as asymptomatic sensitization. In many cases, people with this condition may not even be aware that they have a food hypersensitivity.
Are they truly asymptomatic, though? Or are there effects within their body that they aren't aware of?
I am a neuroscientist studying how the brain is affected by food allergies. I became interested in this topic when I found that some of my family members had a hypersensitivity to cow's milk.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Even if you seem tolerant to an allergen, perhaps due to an allergist’s help with desensitizing therapy, your brain may not have adjusted, at all, and chronic conditions could be encouraged.
The write up is a decent read and for anyone who thinks they have had a food allergy, it’s worth the time to know it might still be important to play it safe.
https://www.healthline.com/health/birth-control/birth-control-mood-swings
another example of how to ignore the Elephant.
Reading the DailyMail will achieve the same outcome. There’s a lot of evidence on the FR.
My old allergist, possibly the best doctor I ever had, told me that allergies apcan manifest in different ways at different times in your life.
For one thing, they can come and go apparently at random. The other thing was that at one stage in someone’s life, they might manifest as hives, later in life, as asthma, then another time as digestive issues, etc.
I was always staggered that anyone could even come close to understanding the immune system. The little I have read on it is complex beyond belief. I’m very impressed with the intellectual acumen of someone like an immunologist who can keep straight all the different components and pathways of allergic response.
And yet there is still so much they do not know.
However, I do believe this article is on to something because I know when I am reacting to something, it absolutely affects my attitude and outlook on lifemp, and even how well I sleep at nigh.
bump
Wow. Your tax dollars paid for this. /s
Best to read it all if you’re not as blown away by the common sense it portrays as I am.
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