Food allergies have become a common health problem around the world. Approximately 20% of the global population alters its daily diet due to some form of adverse reactions to certain foods. Allergy in simple terms is an adverse immune reaction or intolerance to a food protein which is caused by allergens in the food. These allergens or proteins resist the cooking process and the digestive acids and enzymes in the stomach and intestines and then enter the bloodstream. The initial allergy reaction takes place once the allergens enter the bloodstream.

Allergic reactions to foods can be characterized by some symptoms or signs. Skin rashes may be the most common and they mostly occur immediately or after a few hours of the initial introduction into the bloodstream. People also experience itching in the mouth, eyes, throat, and skin or any other body area, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, stomach cramps, nasal congestion, a running nose, difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath, wheezing, a scratchy throat, mood swings and depression, eczema which is inflammation of the upper layers of the skin, and angioedema which is a rapid reaction that causes swelling of the skin, face, lips, eyelids and tongue. In small infants dandruff causes greasy scaling or dryness of the eyebrows and scalp. Red pimples and scaly pimples may also appear in different places on the body.

The eating process and digestion of food greatly affects the timing and location of an allergic reaction. These reactions may build over a varying period of time, some within a few minutes and others days, and this makes identifying these symptoms as being allergy-related quite difficult. It is important to have an idea about any foods which are responsible for causing food allergies in individuals though these vary from region to region. However, the foods most commonly associated with these allergies include eggs, milk, fish, soy, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts, shellfish and sesame.

There are different approaches which can be used for the diagnosis of allergic reactions. These tests mainly rely on one’s clinical history or the basis of the allergic reactions in an individual. The patient is usually interviewed by a physician to determine if the facts are consistent with a food reaction. With the more modern approaches which are available today experts are now able to identify digestion issues caused by reactions to certain foods. They are thus able to diagnose the cause of the problem by advising appropriate dietary changes or medication.