Food allergies in perspective
A food allergy is an over-reaction of the body’s immune system to a food protein (e.g. cow’s milk protein). In an allergic reaction, a natural and normally harmless food component is perceived by the immune system as a dangerous “invader” that has to be destroyed.
In most individuals, the immune system in the digestive tract fights against small amounts of harmful, disease-inducing bacteria and other microorganisms, but at the same time, it recognizes that foods are harmless. This ability to differentiate is called “oral tolerance” to foods.
In a minority of people, this finely balanced mechanism does not work optimally. Their immune defenses over-respond. This results in sensitization and development of an allergy to the food in question. Symptoms usually depend on the age when they first show. During the early weeks of life, symptoms are usually digestive (vomiting, diarrhea), then in the first months or years cutaneous, affecting the skin (atopic eczema). In many cases, food allergic infants will develop other types of allergies at later stages in life, including allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and/or asthma.
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