Food taboos for allergies

One type is food that has been confirmed to be allergic through specific IgE testing and skin prick tests by medical institutions, and the other type is food that has clearly caused allergic reactions (rash, itching, respiratory edema, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or even shock) after repeated consumption. The rest of the "food list" and "allergenic food blacklist" posted online are for reference only and cannot be directly regarded as personal taboos.

A while ago, I met a 19-year-old girl who came to check for allergens. She said that she had been under control at home since she was a child and had never touched mango, seafood, or beef and mutton. She said that the old man said that people with allergies should avoid these. However, during this spring outing, she touched ragweed on the roadside and almost sent her to the hospital for breathlessness. After checking It was then discovered that her allergens were ragweed and dust mites, and the seafood and mangoes she usually didn't touch were all negative. On the contrary, the wheat gluten she ate every day was mildly allergenic. She said she felt a little bloated every time she ate pasta. She thought it was due to indigestion, and she had been avoiding delicious food for more than ten years.

Speaking of this, some people will definitely ask, before that, pediatricians said that children should avoid highly allergenic foods such as nuts and seafood when they were young. Isn’t it right? In fact, these are two parallel ideas in the academic circles. There is no absolute right or wrong: one is for high-risk babies with a clear family history of severe allergies. It is indeed recommended to avoid high-risk foods such as whole nuts and tropical fruits with downy fruits before the age of 3 years old to reduce the probability of acute allergies. ； However, another evidence-based medicine study in recent years also shows that for ordinary babies with no family history of allergies, gradually introducing small amounts of sensitive foods after adding complementary foods at 6 months of age can help build immune tolerance and reduce the probability of allergies in adulthood. The two programs are applicable to completely different groups, so there is no need to argue about right or wrong.

There is also a widely circulated saying that people with allergies should not eat spicy food, beef and mutton. These are "hair-raising substances" and eating them will induce allergies. I met an aunt with chronic urticaria. She didn't touch any smelly vegetables for two years. She didn't even dare to put onions, ginger, and garlic. She cooked vegetables with white rice every day. She lost more than 20 pounds, and her urticaria still broke out two or three times a week. After checking the allergens, I found out that she was allergic to the cat hair at home, and it had nothing to do with the half a cent she ate. Later, she sent the cat to a relative's house, and she was almost fine in less than half a month. Now she can eat hot pot and mutton every time. In fact, the so-called "fat food" is more of a dietary recommendation for sores, fevers and other illnesses in the traditional Chinese medicine system. It is completely different from the food allergy in modern medicine. If there is no clear evidence of allergy, there is really no need to struggle with delicious food.

Of course, this does not mean that all non-clearly allergenic foods can be eaten casually. Another easy pitfall for people with allergies is cross-allergy. For example, people who are allergic to wormwood may experience numbness in the mouth and itchy throat when eating peaches, mangos, celery and even sunflower seeds in autumn when wormwood is sowing. This is because the protein in these foods has a similar protein structure to that of wormwood pollen, and the immune system will trigger a reaction if it recognizes the wrong food. In this case, there is no need to permanently avoid the food. Just avoid eating it during the pollen season. If you eat it after the season, it will probably be fine. There are even more special things. For example, some people are fine as long as they do not exercise strenuously after eating wheat or crab. Once they run or exercise within 6 hours after eating, they will develop rashes, dizziness or even shock. This is called food-dependent exercise-induced allergy. There is no need to completely avoid the corresponding food, as long as you don't mess around after eating it.

To be honest, I have been doing allergy education for so many years, and the most regrettable thing I have ever seen is the two types of people. One is the one who dares to eat anything, and even though he knows he is allergic to mango, he insists on taking a few bites, and ends up in the emergency room with a swollen pig's head.； The other is not to eat anything, and avoid whatever others say is allergic. In the end, nutrition cannot keep up, immunity becomes worse and worse, and allergies occur more frequently. The food taboos for allergies are never just a cookie-cutter list on the Internet. They are your own guide to avoid pitfalls based on what you eat and test. Others’ honey may be your arsenic, and vice versa. It is much more useful to understand your own physical condition than to follow other people’s taboos.