What is Food Allergy

A lot of people has problem with food allergy and most of them suffering from this and affecting their daily life. Here we will have some review on this topic and hope this can health to improve our knowledge and health condition.

Firstly, let's start with some terms that is commonly used in this topic and we might come across with these terms in our later topic.

allergens—substances that cause an allergic reaction.
amino acids—any of the 26 building blocks of proteins.
anaphylaxis—a severe reaction to an allergen that can cause itching, fainting, and in some cases, death.
antibody—a molecule tailor-made by the immune system to lock onto and destroy specific foreign substances such as allergens.
assay—a laboratory method of measuring a substance such as immunoglobulin.
bacteria—kind of microbe, some of which can contaminate or spoil food.
basophils—white blood cells that contribute to inflammatory reactions.
challenge—process of assessing the immune system’s response to a food allergen.
cells—the smallest units of life; the basic living things that make up tissues.
celiac disease—a disease of the digestive system that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutritional contents of food.
cytotoxicity testing—an unproven laboratory method of diagnosing allergies by examining blood samples under microscope to see if white blood cells “die.”
elimination diet—certain foods are removed from a person’s diet and a substitute food of the same type, such as another source of protein in place of eggs, is introduced.
enzyme—a protein produced by living cells that promotes specific biochemical reactions at body temperatures.
epinephrine—a drug form of adrenaline (a natural hormone in the body) that stimulates nerves.
extract—a concentrated liquid preparation containing minute parts of specific foods.
gastrointestinal (GI) tract—an area of the body that includes the stomach and intestines.
glucocorticoid—a type of steroid drug that reduces inflammation.
granule—grain-like part of a cell.
histamine—chemical released by mast cells and basophils.
histamine toxicity—an allergic-like reaction to eating foods containing high levels of histamine.
immune system—a complex network of specialized cells,tissues, and organs, such as the lungs, that defends the body against attacks by disease-causing microbes.
immunoglobulin—one of a large family of proteins, also known as antibody.
inflammation—an immune system reaction to allergens orgasms. Signs include redness, swelling, pain, or heat.