ABSTRACT
Introduction .............................................................................................. 2 Immunological Food Hypersensitivities (True Food Allergies) ................................................................................................... 4
Mechanisms .......................................................................................... 4 IgE-Mediated Allergic Reaction (Immediate Hypersensitivity) ............................................................................. 5 Exercised-Induced Allergic Reactions ............................................ 7 Cell-Mediated Reactions (Delayed Hypersensitivity) ................... 7
Nature and Chemistry of Food Allergens ........................................... 7 Avoidance of True Food Allergies ..................................................... 11 Allergen Cross-Contact and Its Control ............................................ 14 Celiac Disease (Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy) ................................ 15
Nonimmunological Food Sensitivities .................................................. 16 Anaphylactoid Reactions ................................................................... 18 Metabolic Food Disorders.................................................................. 18
Lactose Intolerance ........................................................................ 19 Favism............................................................................................. 21
Idiosyncratic Reactions ...................................................................... 22 Sulfite-Induced Asthma ................................................................. 23 Role of MSG in Idiosyncratic Reactions........................................ 25 Tartrazine-Induced Asthma and Urticaria.................................... 26 Other Food Additives in Chronic Urticaria and Asthma............. 27
Summary ................................................................................................. 28 References ............................................................................................... 28
Eating is necessary to sustain life. For most people, given the variety and abundance of food available to them, eating is an enjoyable experience. For individuals with food allergies and sensitivities, however, consuming certain foods can be a debilitating and possibly even life-threatening experience. For such people, the joy of eating is diminished by the ever-present concern that they might consume a food or food component that will cause an adverse reaction. The standard treatment for food allergies and sensitivities is the removal of the offending food from the diet. For such consumers, food selection often becomes a tedious task requiring meticulous reading of ingredient lists on labels, dependence on food manufacturers to maintain accurate labels, and a continual search for more knowledge about food composition. Food preparation for them requires, in many cases, careful attention to detail, cooking “from scratch,” and seeking alternative recipes for many dishes. These consumers live in constant fear that trace amounts of the offending food, sufficient to elicit an adverse reaction, might still exist in the foods that they consume.
