Food Allergies

"Hey, do you want some?" your friend asks as he offers you a mouthwatering homemade brownie. You're tempted by the delicious dessert, but then you see the crushed peanuts on top. Darn! You're allergic to peanuts. Maybe just one little bite?

Nope. If you have a food allergy, even a very tiny bit of that food can make you sick. It's better to say no thanks to the brownie and have a nut-free dessert. Lots of kids have food allergies — about 3 million in the United States alone.

These foods cause the most food allergies:

• eggs
• peanuts and other nuts
• seafood, such as shrimp
• milk, particularly cow's milk
• soy
• wheat

What Is a Food Allergy?

Food allergies occur when your immune system makes a mistake. Normally, your immune system protects you from germs and disease. It does this by making antibodies that help you fight off bacteria, viruses, and other tiny organisms that can make you sick. But if you have a food allergy, your immune system mistakenly treats something in a certain food as if it's really dangerous to you.

Doctors believe that allergies could be hereditary, which means if your parent or other close relative has certain allergies like hay fever, you're more likely to develop the allergies. Some kids are born allergic to certain foods, whereas others develop food allergies over time. This may be due to someone's surroundings or changes in the body as they grow older.

So if you are not sure if you are allergic to something its better to not eat that item at all.

Important Things to Remember:

• Read Labels
• When handling multiple food allergies, its best to use different utensils when preparing meals
• Eat Real and Fresh Natural Foods

 There are lots of good sites to check out with alot of useful tips.
      http://allergymoms.com/index.php
      http://www.foodallergymama.com

 


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