Ways to Know Your Body Food Allergies and Triggers

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What Is An Allergy?

There is a lot of talk about allergies. But just what is an allergy and what causes them? Why do some people have them while others do not? Why are people with one allergy more inclined to have many?

We would start by answering the above questions. The immune system is set up to protect our bodies from harmful, foreign substances such as; viruses and bacteria, dirt and germs. Sometimes the immune system does not develop properly or is just oversensitive and doesn’t react right.

In these cases, it reacts to things that are not harmful and don’t usually cause people any problems. These things are called allergens. The term allergens are just an easier way to say “things that cause allergies”. Even Dogs have allergies toward certain food substances.

When the oversensitive or improperly developed immune system sees these allergens, it sends out chemicals such as “histamine.” It is the histamines that cause the symptoms that are common with allergies.

Symptoms like itching, watery eyes, runny nose, swelling, hives or rashes. Different people have different symptoms, but the causes are the same. The symptoms that are displayed depend on the part of the body the allergen comes in contact with.

Allergens that are breathed in, like pollen or dust cause coughing or wheezing, stuffy or runny noses and an itchy nose and throat. Plant allergies usually come in contact with the skin, so they cause rashes.

Food allergies usually result in nausea, vomiting, stomach pains or in severe cases, life threatening reactions. Drug allergies tend to involve the entire body, so they have a variety of symptoms.

You may have known already that food allergy is an unusual reaction to food that most people love eating. Some studies show that an exposure to certain food types may create a response from the body immune system.  The reaction that the immune system eventually generates will then cause discomforting symptoms in the person having the allergy.

Looking more closely, food allergens (the ones that causes allergic reactions) are proteins that unfortunately withstood the high temperatures of cooking as well as the acidic substances and enzymes of the gastrointestinal system. These allergens consequently live on to pass through the linings of the gastrointestinal tract, then disperse into the blood circulatory system, and travel to organs of target, which leads to different allergic symptoms all over the body.

Food allergy symptoms are commonly noted as:

  • Irritation of the skin which may involve hives
  • Eczema
  • Simple rash

Other symptoms may also include:

  • Irritations in the gastrointestinal organs like vomiting
  • Indigestion
  • Diarrhea
  • Stomach aches
  • Nausea

Through the years, there have been numerous documented allergic reactions seen in a lot of people. The following are additional information about other allergic symptoms that most people might have experienced but have failed to recognize such at that particular time: