This epidemic forces people to give up delicious food (not stomach problems)

Do you have friends like this around you? Are they criticized for being picky eaters, pretentious, or lazy?

No, they have food allergies!

Food allergy has become a food safety and public health issue of global concern, and is called the "second wave" of allergy epidemic after asthma.

Food allergy is something that is difficult to relate to, as the ancient Roman poet Lucretius said, "What is delicious to me is poison to you."

Some "bad friends" will treat their allergic friends as artificial fake mutton detectors.

Some people who don’t understand food allergies may even think that there is no such thing as food allergies and that they are just being pretentious.

Food allergy is a serious and uncomfortable thing.

It is an adverse reaction caused by special substances in food or food ingredients that are harmless to the general human body, which causes the body's immune system to produce specific antibodies. It is an allergic reaction of the body to exogenous substances.

Simply put, the immune system has become "abnormal" and attacks substances that are originally harmless.

Minutes to hours after being attacked, our bodies may experience a variety of allergic symptoms:

So, what makes us the "chosen ones" for food allergies, or what makes us escape the disaster and enjoy eating everything?

Genetics and environment are the two main factors.

Studies have shown that children whose parents are allergic have an allergy rate 1 to 2 times higher than children whose parents are not allergic.

Environmental and dietary factors are also the main reasons for the increased risk of food allergies.

Nowadays, disinfectants, pesticides and antibiotics are widely used, which reduces our chances of resisting various infections and our chances of contacting symbiotic beneficial bacteria, making us more prone to allergic reactions.

There are so many strange food allergies.

For example, in the TV series Friends, Ross developed an allergy to kiwi fruit.

Some colleagues in the company are allergic to certain mangoes.

The kiwi and mango mentioned above can be called allergens - substances that cause us to be allergic.

The World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have summarized 8 types of allergens. According to statistics, 90% of allergies are caused by them and their corresponding products.

Among them, milk and eggs are common allergens in children.

Adults are more likely to be allergic to foods such as peanuts, tree nuts (almonds, walnuts), sesame seeds, certain fruits and vegetables (peaches, mangoes), seafood, and grains (wheat).

Most allergies are incurable. Some delicacies are destined to be missed by some people.

But there are some ways we can deal with allergies -

However, some food allergies can be perfectly avoided, such as yam allergy.

Most people are not allergic to eating yams, but when peeling fresh yams, any area that comes into contact with mucus will experience severe itching.

The easiest way at this time is to let the person at home who can peel the yam wear gloves, or to blanch the yam before peeling it. The high temperature will solidify the mucus and destroy the allergenic components.

If yam mucus accidentally gets on your hands, you can blow it with a hair dryer or soak it in hot water, and the itchiness will no longer be unbearable.

It is really delicious to eat pork ribs stewed with yam in winter.

For children, egg and milk allergies may be alleviated as they grow older, as the gastrointestinal barrier function improves, the activity of certain digestive enzymes increases, the gastric acid concentration increases, and the immune system matures.

But many food allergies are lifelong. Food allergies are often stigmatized as picky eaters and pretentious. There are always some people who make irrelevant and sarcastic remarks -

"Oh! You're just making up excuses for not liking to eat."

"Is your seafood allergy just a psychological problem? Next time I won't tell you to put seafood in it."

"What do you mean by alcohol allergy? It's just not giving me face."

The Chinese New Year is coming soon. I hope we can sit around the table with our family and have a good meal this year. But don’t urge others to drink or eat. What you like to eat may be a dangerous allergen for others.

Tell people around you that dietary taboos are not a trivial matter and are not to be taken lightly.

Editor | Tang Tang

Illustration | Doudou

Design | Damao

References:

[1] Fu Linglin, Wang Yanbo. Food allergy: from sensitization mechanism to control strategy[J]. Food Science, 2021, 42(19): 1-19.

[2]https://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/No_03_allergy_June06_en.pdf

Source: Dad Review