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"While we found that one in 10 adults have food allergy, nearly twice as many adults think that they are allergic to foods, while their symptoms may suggest food intolerance or other food related conditions," says lead author Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, from Lurie Children's, who also is a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "It is important to see a physician for appropriate testing and diagnosis before completely eliminating foods from the diet. If food allergy is confirmed, understanding the management is also critical, including recognizing symptoms of anaphylaxis and how and when to use epinephrine."
[...] "We were surprised to find that adult-onset food allergies were so common," says Dr. Gupta. "More research is needed to understand why this is occurring and how we might prevent it."
The study data indicate that the most prevalent food allergens among U.S. adults are shellfish (affecting 7.2 million adults), milk (4.7 million), peanut (4.5 million), tree nut (3 million), fin fish (2.2 million), egg (2 million), wheat (2 million), soy (1.5 million), and sesame (.5 million).
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday January 06 2019, @05:10PM
You seem to be limiting "allergy" to people with SEVERE allergies. Not everyone with an allergy is threatened with anaphylaxis. Your earlier post rightly differentiates between "food intolerance" (which affects the digestive system) vs. "food allergy" (which targets the immune system). But immune system reactions can vary widely.
I've had a mild allergy to cats since I was a child. I've been officially tested by a doctor. Most times in the presences of cats I barely notice it, though. With prolonged contact (or an unclear house with a lot of cats), it may manifest itself by giving me watery or itchy eyes, perhaps a slight rash if the cat is particularly "friendly" and I spend a lot of time with it. I've lived for short periods in houses with cats without any severe reactions.
I have had friends and family members who have been tested with allergy panels by doctors. Many of them have mild immune system responses to some things. Others have things that could potentially be life-threatening.
I agree with you that the study may be bogus. But not everyone with an allergy will die with casual contact to the allergen, and doctors "confirm" allergies all the time without necessarily giving prescriptions for epinephrine.