Doubt Is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies

Many who think they have food allergies actually do not.

A new report, commissioned by the federal government, finds the field is rife with poorly done studies, misdiagnoses and tests that can give misleading results.

While there is no doubt that people can be allergic to certain foods, with reproducible responses ranging from a rash to a severe life-threatening reaction, the true incidence of food allergies is only about 8 percent for children and less than 5 percent for adults, said Dr. Marc Riedl, an author of the new paper and an allergist and immunologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Yet about 30 percent of the population believe they have food allergies. And, Dr. Riedl said, about half the patients coming to his clinic because they had been told they had a food allergy did not really have one.

Dr. Riedl does not dismiss the seriousness of some people’s responses to foods. But, he says, “That accounts for a small percentage of what people term ‘food allergies.’ ”

Even people who had food allergies as children may not have them as adults. People often shed allergies, though no one knows why. And sometimes people develop food allergies as adults, again for unknown reasons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/health/research/12allergies.html?th&emc=th

unheard of until recent years.


I wonder how many of them are not valid.

If I am around a smoker, in exactly TWO DAYS I will be sick as a dog with a roaring sinus infection. And have to go to the doctor and get an antibiotic shot.

I am allergic to some perfumes but not all.

We live in a bizarre world.

Because she had some GI symptoms after eating them separately (it sounded more like foodborne illness than allergy to me). She has not seen an allergist for it but continues to avoid those foods.

I was having GI problems (mainly severe constant bloating) and was tested for Celiac but my anti-endomysial and anti-transglutaminase serum IgA were negative. I had skin testing done by an allergist and came up for wheat, dairy and soy though serum IgE was negative for all 3 (as well as everything else in the panel). Based on eliminating them from my diet and trying each separately I only have GI problems with wheat. I think there was a similar thread a few months ago and the 'it's hip to have food allergies' topic came up. Apparently for some it is, though it sure sucks to have to avoid so many foods that contain one ingredient and not eat real bread without a lot of discomfort, so I don't understand why people do that.

explain the difference. I also didn't have this until recently.

:shrug:

Just like my respiratory allergies. My body gets tired of fighting the offending substance.

I once ate a big meal of fried shrimp and I stayed in bed all day the next day, feeling awful.

So I don't do shellfish.

You don't have to break out in a rash or suffer anaphylactic shock to have a food allergy.