The Top 8 Food Allergies

1. Peanuts: peanut allergy is the leading cause of severe allergic reactions, affecting about 1.1% of the population.
2. Shellfish: shellfish can also cause severe allergic reactions.  Shellfish are classified as mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters), and crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, crabs).  Shrimp is considered the most allergenic.
3. Fish:  Pollock, salmon, cod, tuna, snapper, eel, and tilapia are among the fish that commonly trigger fish allergies.  These allergies are often developed during adulthood, as are shellfish allergies, and are less likely to be outgrown.
4. Dairy: a dairy allergy is different than lactose intolerance.  A dairy allergy causes an immune response to the protein in cow’s milk, while intolerance to lactose is an inability to digest the lactose found in dairy products.  Goat’s and sheep’s milk can also pose a problem for those with an allergy to cow’s milk products.
5. Eggs: both the yolk and the whites of eggs can trigger a reaction, but in some cases the egg yolk is less allergenic.  Most egg allergies develop during childhood, but around 2/3 of children with an egg allergy tend to outgrow it by age 7.
6. Soy: soy is also an allergy that kids are likely to outgrow.  While soy is not a food staple for most American families, East Asian and vegetarian lifestyles use soy in many products, which could present a challenge to one with the allergy.
7. Wheat: this allergy affects 6% of children under the age of 3.  A wheat allergy is different than Celiac’s disease, which affects the autoimmune system when gluten is consumed.
8. Tree nuts: those affected by the tree nut allergy should avoid macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, chestnuts, beechnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts (pignoli or pinon), gingko nuts and hickory nuts.  The reactions associated with tree nuts are often severe, with walnuts and cashews causing the most reactions.  At least 90% of children that have a tree nut allergy will not outgrow it.

References:
Food Allergy Network
MedicineNet.com

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