Dr Costa: Private Children's Allergy Clinic
  • Home
  • About
    • Memberships
  • Services
    • Types of Allergy
    • Fees
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Allergy Articles & Updates

food industry and allergies

7/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Food Industry and Allergies
Eliciting Dose for 14 major Allergens
Often people ask me what they should do when they see a "𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯" label.⁣
⁣
My first question to them is, how many variations of that wording have they seen?⁣
⁣⁣
  • In a study done many years ago, the researchers found over 20 different ways of writing an allergy warning in food.⁣
  • They asked people how they would act, depending on what was written, and the variability was incredible.⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞.⁣
⁣
Several other studies went to see what was the actual variation of allergen concentration.⁣
⁣
What did they find?⁣
  • In products with a warning, 6.5 to 93% contained an allergen.⁣
  • In products without a warning, 11 to 53% contained an allergen.⁣
⁣
In reality, there is still a significant risk of a not labelled food, to contain a substantial amount of allergens.⁣
⁣
But why is it that the food industry has this massive variability in warnings they use and still have so much potential cross-contamination of allergens?⁣
⁣
The problem tracks back to political parties, the way they are funded or the individual politician's financial interest.⁣
What I am saying might be controversial, but let's look at what is known.⁣
⁣
Most of you have never heard of the "𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮".⁣
  • This is the most powerful lobby within the 𝘌𝘜 – the 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲.⁣
  • They have offices inside the 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 and manage to block all resolutions that can lead to improvement of food quality when this affects the profit the food industry has.⁣
  • It is easy to see what they have done so far, as most are widely published. (the list is far too long for me to place it here).⁣
⁣
In the 𝘜𝘚𝘈 alone, in the 2014 elections, the food industry donated $𝟏𝟕𝐌, in total, to both parties.⁣
⁣
This comes to the 𝐏'𝐬 I have spoken about before.⁣
Those, also called 𝐄𝐃'𝐬 (𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘰𝘴𝘦), look into the dose needed to cause an allergic reaction and the percentage of allergic people who will react.⁣
⁣
So a 𝐏𝟏 or 𝐄𝐃𝟏 means that the potential cross-contamination in a particular food will lead to 1% or fewer allergic people reacting to that food.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
The best collaboration done so far is the one between the food industry in Australia, the Government and Allergy Organizations.⁣⁣⁣
(see the attached table to see the ED for the 14 main allergens)⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣




















Such an agreement does not exist in the 𝘌𝘜 at present.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
The hope for the 𝘜𝘒, at the moment, is that the so called "𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐰" will lead to a change in this practice.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
But we need to go deeper than simple labelling, look into manufacturing practices, and avoid allergens altogether.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=218423533618199&id=100063516604410
​

Exercise and lack of sleep can lead to increased allergic reactions
0 Comments

What is an allergy?

3/4/2021

0 Comments

 
What is an allergy?
It is a reaction from our immune system to something we got in contact with that the immune system did not recognize as "safe".
  • This can happen to a multitude of substances, with the best known being foods, pet dander, pollen, house dust mites, bee or wasp venom.
  • But chemicals can also lead to those reactions.

The substance that causes such a reaction is called an "allergen".

Allergens can be found all around us.
  • In food, drinks, environment, being them airborne (which can be either droplets or minuscule solids) or solids we get in contact with.

The primary reaction that will happen is the immune system trying to destroy that "invader" (allergen), and for that, it uses a significant amount of the immune mediators.

The outcome is an allergic reaction that can come in all sorts of presentations and severity.

Saying that not all allergens we get in contact with will make our immune system react.
Some are relatively harmless, depending on each individual's immune system and, often, prior exposure to that substance.

What are the most common allergens in children?
  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Wheat
  • Soy
  • Peanuts
  • Tree nuts
  • Fish
  • Crustacean/Shellfish

How does it affect children:
  1. Increased risk of developing allergies if one/both parents are atopic
  2. 33% with moderate/severe eczema may present with a food allergy
  3. There is a close relationship between asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergy in school-age
  4. Food allergy is associated with severe asthma

The outcome of the allergies depends on the food the child is allergic to.
  • Milk and egg - usually resolved by teenage years
  • Wheat and soy - those are transient allergies of childhood
  • Peanut and tree nut - typically starts in childhood and only 20% resolve
  • Fish - it is often lifelong

Milk, soy, egg and wheat - are the most common foods involved in non-IgE mediated food allergy.

www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=255082522988655&id=109164090913833
0 Comments

Breast milk and Allergens

2/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Breast Milk and Allergens
Breast milk production
One of the most common questions I get from mothers is "𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?".⁣⁣

Many have decided to go on a food exclusion, without any 𝘗𝘢𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯'𝘴 or 𝘗𝘢𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵'𝘴 advice, meaning potential nutritional deficiencies and substantial confusion to what is the causative agent, if any.⁣⁣

Fortunately, when there is a relationship between maternal food ingestion and an allergic reaction in a baby, they tend to be non-IgE mediated.⁣⁣

Excellent information on the management of those reactions can be seen in an 𝐄𝐀𝐀𝐂𝐈 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫:⁣⁣ "Diagnosis and management of Non‐IgE gastrointestinal allergies in breastfed infants — An EAACI Position Paper.

For all the others, referral to a 𝘗𝘢𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 should be considered, so investigations (mainly skin prick tests - SPTs) can be done.⁣⁣

After that, coordination with a 𝘗𝘢𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 will lead to re-introduction of foods into the maternal diet and, eventually, into the child's diet as well.

The dietitian will also advise on the need for supplementation if the diet is not adequate.⁣

Before that appointment happens, it is always a good idea for mothers to keep a food and symptoms diary.⁣⁣
That often, on its own, can be enough for us to make a diagnosis and management plan.⁣⁣



















Please do bear in mind that though only four main allergens have been investigated so far, it is highly likely all or most others will also be expressed in breast milk.⁣⁣

Unfortunately, there is significant variability of allergen presentation in breast milk, which is often related to the method used to detect the proteins associated with those allergens.⁣⁣

Further research into a unified and conclusive investigative tool is of great importance, so clarifying and establishing a causal relationship between allergen ingestion on a mother and allergic reaction on a baby can be achieved.

Bottom line if worried about a potential allergic reaction in your breastfed child:⁣⁣
  1. Start a food and symptoms diary.⁣⁣
  2. Speak to your GP.⁣⁣
  3. Potential referral to a Paediatric Allergy Dietitian and/or Paediatric Allergist⁣⁣.
  4. Do not start a food exclusion on your own, especially extensive food exclusions.⁣
⁣
www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=241380731025501&id=109164090913833

Allergens in breast milk
0 Comments

    Author

    Dr Costa is a Consultant Paediatrician and fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

    Archives

    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020

    Categories

    All
    Airborne Allergies
    Allergens
    Allergic Reaction
    Allergic Rhinitis
    Allergies
    Allergy
    Allergy To Pets
    Anaphylaxis
    Antihistamines
    Asthma
    Breast Milk
    Chicken
    Chicken Allergy
    Coeliac Disease
    Contact Dermatitis
    COVID19 Vaccine
    Cow's Milk Protein Allergy
    Dinosaur
    Eczema
    Egg
    Egg Allergy
    Egg Ladder
    Fish Allergy
    Flu Vaccine
    Food Allergy
    Food Allergy Labelling
    Food Industry
    Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome
    Food Protein Induced Proctocolitis
    FPIES
    FPIP
    Gastroesophageal Reflux
    Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
    GER
    GERD
    Guest Blog
    Gut Health
    Hayfever
    Histamine
    Histamine Intolerance
    Household Dust
    Immunotherapy
    Lactose Intolerance
    Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
    Mental Health
    Microbiome
    Middle East
    MMR Vaccine
    Neuritin
    Non Allergic Rhinitis
    Oral Allergy Syndrome
    Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine
    Peanut Allergy
    Pfizer Vaccine
    Pollen Food Syndrome
    Probiotics
    Psychiatric Conditions
    Rabies Vaccine
    Shellfish Allergy
    Summer Camp
    United Arab Emirates
    Vaccination
    Vitamin A
    Vitamins
    Weaning
    Weaning With Reflux
    Wheat Allergy
    Yellow Fever Vaccine

    RSS Feed

Clinic Address: The Chase, Old Milverton Ln, Leamington Spa CV32 6RW
Email address: officedrcosta@gmail.com
​Contact number: 07949990798


Website design & content by LIT Communication: www.litcommunication.com
Picture
  • Home
  • About
    • Memberships
  • Services
    • Types of Allergy
    • Fees
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact