Food allergies seem to be creeping up on Americans like some sort of outer space attack. Researchers suspect that true food allergies affect less than 2 percent of the adult population. For those truly sensitive to it, even eating something merely by touched one of these foods can trigger an attack that's swift and dramatic. Within minutes, swelling, itching and sneezing begins. Researchers emphasize that there's a big difference between allergies and food intolerance.
Many kids have food allergies, which they outgrow.
Just because you were allergic to strawberries as a toddler doesn't necessarily mean you can't eat them when you're 40. Claiming to be allergic to foods has become something of a diet fad. If you say you can't eat wheat, no one is going to shove foccacia bread down your throat. But with this trend, comes a tendency for people to cut many foods out of their diet without thinking, which means they may be undermining their nutritional needs. The most common food allergy symptoms are hives, indigestion, diarreah or vomiting, wheezing and congestion, abdominal pain, eczema, earaches, swelling of the tongue and lips.