{"id":1625,"date":"2019-11-18T10:49:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T10:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/?page_id=1625"},"modified":"2019-11-22T14:51:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T14:51:22","slug":"what-is-food-allergy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/allergy-facts\/what-is-food-allergy\/","title":{"rendered":"What is food allergy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; global_module=&#8221;322&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_menu global_parent=&#8221;322&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; menu_id=&#8221;7&#8243; submenu_direction=&#8221;downwards&#8221; fullwidth_menu=&#8221;off&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; module_class=&#8221;main-navigation&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; transparent_background=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; inner_shadow=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221;][et_pb_row allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; module_class=&#8221;breadcrumbs-row&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Breadcrumbs (do not remove)&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; module_class=&#8221;breadcrumbs&#8221; custom_css_main_element=&#8221;border-bottom: 1px solid #ececed;&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/\">Food Allergens<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; specialty=&#8221;on&#8221; transparent_background=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; inner_shadow=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;on&#8221; gutter_width=&#8221;2&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#1d1d1d&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Left Nav Sidebar&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_1&#8243; orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;on&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; module_id=&#8221;left-nav-menu&#8221; show_border=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243; specialty_columns=&#8221;2&#8243;][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=&#8221;Row&#8221;][et_pb_column_inner type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; saved_specialty_column_type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_text background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1>What is food allergy?<\/h1>\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.692308em;line-height: 1.5;font-weight: 300;padding: 0 0 30px;color: #14516e\">Some people react with what doctors call a hypersensitivity reaction when eating certain foods or additives. Typically it is commonly-consumed foods such as peanuts or eggs that cause a reaction.<\/p>\n<p>For an adverse reaction to be called a food hypersensitivity, the symptoms that occur must be of a certain kind, specifically:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Appear when a person eats the problem food.<\/li>\n<li>Disappear or diminish when a person avoids the problem food.<\/li>\n<li>Reappear when the person reintroduces the problem food.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Food hypersensitivity is divided into two types, food allergy and non-allergic food hypersensitivity.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;][et_pb_accordion_item _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; title=&#8221;Food allergy&#8221;]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>IgE-mediated food allergy, e.g.\n<ul>\n<li>Milk, egg, peanut, etc<\/li>\n<li>Pollen-related<\/li>\n<li>Latex-related\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Non-IgE-mediated food allergy, e.g.\n<ul>\n<li>Coeliac disease (gluten)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; title=&#8221; Non-allergic food hypersensitivity (food intolerance)&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lactose (milk) intolerance<\/li>\n<li>Hypersensitivity toward sulphites<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][et_pb_text background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>The immune system and food allergy<\/h2>\n<p>People\u00a0with\u00a0food allergies\u00a0have an\u00a0allergic\u00a0reaction when they come in contact with certain\u00a0foods.<\/p>\n<p>This happens because their immune system overreacts to the proteins in that\u00a0food, and their immune system is involved in creating the symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>Our immune system protects our bodies from infections. We produce molecules, called antibodies, which recognise germs which can cause infections.<\/p>\n<p>Our immune system makes a number of different types of antibody, which have different roles. The one that plays a role in an allergic reaction is called\u00a0Immunoglobulin E (IgE).<\/p>\n<p>We produce IgE to fight infections caused by parasites, like worms or those that cause malaria.<\/p>\n<p>The immune systems of people with allergy make IgE by mistake to harmless things like pollen or dust mites, giving rise to hay fever and asthma, and to some foods.<\/p>\n<h2>Allergens in food<\/h2>\n<p>Food\u00a0allergens\u00a0(the molecules in food responsible for an allergic reaction) are usually proteins. Typically, there are several different kinds of allergen in each food. It is not yet clear what makes some proteins food allergens, and not others.<\/p>\n<p>When a person eats a food, the food may trigger immune cells to produce large amounts of IgE antibodies that recognise that food.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the immune cells can be triggered to produce IgE when a person breathes in tiny parts of a food e.g. sunflower seeds when they are used to feed birds.<\/p>\n<h2>How reactions occur<\/h2>\n<p>The IgE circulates in the blood and some of it attaches to the surface of specialised inflammatory cells called mast cells. These cells occur in all body tissues but are especially common in areas of the body that are typical sites of allergic reactions.<\/p>\n<p>The person is then\u00a0sensitised\u00a0to the food and primed to produce an allergic reaction.<\/p>\n<p>On any following occasion when the person eats the same food, the allergens interact with the IgE on the surface of the mast cells. In response, the activated mast cells rapidly release chemicals such as\u00a0histamine.<\/p>\n<p>It varies how much of the allergen that have to be present to cause symptoms. In some instances even very small amounts of an allergen may trigger severe symptoms. For some people it is enough to just breathe in a tiny part of the food to get an allergic reaction.<\/p>\n<h2>Related allergies<\/h2>\n<p>Some people have allergic reactions where IgE is not involved. <a href=\"\/foodallergens\/allergy-facts\/coeliac-disease\/\">Gluten hypersensitivity (coeliac disease)<\/a> is an example of non-IgE-mediated food allergy.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals with <a href=\"\/foodallergens\/allergy-facts\/pollen-and-food-allergy\/\">pollen<\/a> or <a href=\"\/foodallergens\/allergy-facts\/latex-and-food-allergens\/\">latex allergy<\/a> often experience allergic symptoms when they eat certain fruits, vegetables or nuts.\u00a0 This cross-reactivity\u00a0occurs because the body cannot distinguish between the allergens in pollen or latex and related proteins in food and may react to both.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;][et_pb_accordion_item _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; title=&#8221;Further reading&#8221;]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sabato, V., Platt, P., Garcez, T., &amp; Cooke, P. (2019) <a href=\"https:\/\/bjanaesthesia.org\/article\/S0007-0912(19)30366-6\/fulltext\">Suspected perioperative allergic reactions: nomenclature and terminology<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ring, J., Jutel, M., Papadopoulos, N., Pfaar, O., &amp; Akdis, C. (2018) <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/all.13561\">Provocative proposal for a revised nomenclature for allergy and other hypersensitivity diseases<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Connect Title&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;0px||0px|&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.90&#8243; background_color=&#8221;#1d1d1d&#8221; module_class=&#8221;footer-section&#8221; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; global_module=&#8221;380&#8243;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_3=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_3=&#8221;off&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; module_id=&#8221;footer-row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.89&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Contact Us Title&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Contact Us<\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Contact Us&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; text_text_color=&#8221;#aaaaaa&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; module_class=&#8221;contact-us&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Find Us Title&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Find Us<\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Address&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; module_id=&#8221;address&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.manchester.ac.uk\/discover\/maps\/interactive-map\/\">The University of Manchester<br \/>Oxford Rd<br \/>Manchester<br \/>M13 9PL<br \/>UK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Connect Title&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4>Connect With Us<\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=&#8221;Social Media&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;]<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inlineList footer-socialIcons\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheUniversityOfManchester\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/assets.manchester.ac.uk\/phase1\/templates\/images\/icon-facebook-50.png\" alt=\"Facebook page for The University of Manchester\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <\/a><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/li>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OfficialUoM\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/assets.manchester.ac.uk\/phase1\/templates\/images\/icon-twitter-50.png\" alt=\"Twitter page for The University of Manchester\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <\/a><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/li>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/universitymanchester\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/assets.manchester.ac.uk\/phase1\/templates\/images\/icon-youtube-50.png\" alt=\"YouTube page for The University of Manchester\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <\/a><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/li>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/officialuom\/\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/assets.manchester.ac.uk\/phase1\/templates\/images\/icon-instagram-50.svg\" alt=\"Instagram page for The University of Manchester\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" \/><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <\/a><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/li>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/\">Food Allergens<\/a><\/span><\/span> What is food allergy? Some people react with what doctors call a hypersensitivity reaction when eating certain foods or additives. Typically it is commonly-consumed foods such as peanuts or eggs that cause a reaction. For an adverse reaction to be called a food hypersensitivity, the symptoms that occur must be of a certain kind, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":1499,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1625","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1907,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1625\/revisions\/1907"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/foodallergens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}