Managing food allergies
If you have recently been diagnosed with food allergy, you may feel uncertain or cautious about what you can eat. Severe allergic reactions can be severe and life-threatening. Food allergy is serious, and it is important to take an active role in managing it.
How do you prevent an allergic reaction?
You can prevent food allergies by avoiding your known food allergen(s). The first thing you need to do is know which food(s) cause an allergic reaction. When you understand what foods to avoid and how to identify them on food labels, you take a step forward in managing your food allergy.
Keep track of your symptoms. Write down in a diary what meals you ate and whether foods caused any allergy symptoms. If you experience allergy symptoms to a food, make an appointment with a board-certified allergist for testing. Food allergy testing may include a skin prick test, blood test or an oral food challenge. Your allergist will diagnose food allergy based on the test results, your symptoms, and your medical history.
Once you know your trigger food(s), develop a plan to avoid those foods. Sometimes, even with your best efforts, you may have an accidental exposure to your food allergen. If you’re at risk for a severe allergic reaction, you will need to treat it with epinephrine.
Foods to avoid
Nine foods account for 90% of all food allergies. These are:
- cow’s milk
- eggs
- peanuts
- tree nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnut, hazelnut, etc.)
- wheat
- soy
- fish (includes bass, trout, cod, salmon)
- shellfish (lobster, shrimp, crab)
- sesame
When you’re allergic to a food, it’s important to know what types of foods contain your allergen. Learn ingredients and check food product labels to ensure you avoid your food allergen.
Reading food labels
The Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires food manufacturers to label if their product contains one of the nine most common food allergens. These are milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanut, tree nut, fish, crustacean shellfish and sesame. Food manufacturers must list allergens in clear, plain language. The listing must be part of the ingredients and in a “Contains” statement placed immediately after the ingredients.
The law applies to any food flavoring, spice, food coloring or processing aid that contains a Top 9 allergen. The law does not apply to meat or poultry and gluten-containing grains other than wheat. Molluscan shellfish such as clams, oysters, mussels and scallops are not considered a major food allergen under the law.
Food manufacturers are not required to list highly refined peanut, tree nut or soy oils. The processing of these products separates the allergen protein from the oil. So they are considered safe.
Some tips for reading food labels:
- Check food labels when shopping for groceries. First, look for the “Contains” statement on the food label. If your allergen is listed, put the product back on the shelf.
- If there’s no “Contains” statement on the food label, check the ingredients list to see if your allergen is present. If it is, put the product back on the shelf.
- Make sure you know all your food allergens and the different ways they may be listed. Ingredients derived from common food allergens can be listed under many different names.
- Avoid foods with advisory statements on allergens, such as “May contain…” or “Produced in a facility that…” or “Manufactured on shared equipment…” This means there’s a chance your food allergen is present in the product. It could have been made using equipment that made other foods containing your allergen.
- If you have a less common food allergy, work with your allergist or a dietician to understand any and all ingredients to avoid.
- Read every label, every time, even if a product you bought previously was a “safe” food. Food manufacturers can change ingredients of products without notice.
- If you are unsure about whether a food contains your food allergen, don’t buy it. Check with the manufacturer to be sure.
