This week’s podcast episode is a fascinating look at the ever-evolving world of food allergy management. Food allergy expert Dr Douglas Jones joins fx Medicine ambassador Emma Sutherland to unpack the intricacies of food allergy management.
Peanut allergy is one of the dominant allergic diseases experienced by children and, while some children may grow out of a milk, wheat or egg allergy, peanuts allergies tend to be lifelong burdens for most sufferers. Symptoms associated with peanut exposure in those who are allergic vary from gastrointestinal to systemic, with anaphylactic reactions posing the greatest danger.
Histamine is a chemical compound that is involved in the immune system response. Histamine is often associated with allergies and their associated symptoms such as sneezing, headaches, nasal congestion and breathing difficulties.
When aiming to address allergic symptoms, reducing exposure to known allergens is essential. These recommendations can be given to assist in regulating normal immune responses and stabilising mast cells to reduce excessive histamine release.
There has been an increase in the prevalence of food allergies over the past 20 years and it is now becoming an important public health issue.[1-3] Food allergies are defined as an adverse reaction arising from an immune response to a food or foods.[1]
Mention quercetin and the first thing that will spring to mind for practitioners will most likely be its efficacy in the treatment of allergies. Often referred to as ‘nature’s antihistamine’, quercetin reduces the allergic response by stabilising mast cells and basophils thus preventing the release of histamine.
Worms never conjure up a pleasant picture in our minds and threadworm might be more sinister than we've been led to believe.
The major drivers for allergy and atopy are multifactorial and complex but indeed, almost all circumstances relate back to modernisation and the industrial revolution.
