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 | When people think of food allergies, nuts, seafood, egg and milk are what comes to mind for most people. Other people have less common forms of food allergies, such as fruits and vegetables, meats and cereal grains. While avoidance of these foods can be tough, at least it's possible (for the most part). For people with allergies to spices, however, life can be very difficult. Spices are made from any part of a plant, and used for seasoning or flavoring foods. Spice allergy can be just as dangerous and debilitating as other food allergies, but are much harder to avoid. Why? Because most packaged and prepared foods don't actually list the type of spice that the food is made with. Terms such as "spices" or "natural flavorings" are common, and in restaurant settings, most chefs are unwilling to share what could be their "secret ingredient". Think you might be allergic to spices? Find out more about how the diagnosis is made, and what can be done about it. | |
Spice Allergy
A spice is any part of a plant that is used for the purpose of seasoning or flavoring food. Spices may be obtained from the bark, leaves, seeds, roots, buds, fruit or other part of the plant. Compared with spices, an herb is usually obtained from the leafy part of a plant, and is also used to season or flavor foods. Most people use the terms spice and herb interchangeably. As with other foods, allergy to spices is possible. While spice allergy is considered to be fairly rare, affecting between 5 to 10 people for every 10,000 people, it is probably under-diagnosed. Many species have biological functions that enhance their ability to result in sensitization. For example, black pepper inhibits cell transport of ions, causing swelling of cells; capsaicin enhances its own intestinal absorption, possibly resulting in higher rates of sensitization.
| Allergy to MSG
MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a flavor-enhancer added to various foods, and also occurs naturally in seaweed. Adverse reactions to food additives like MSG are probably relatively common. However, since many reactions to food additives are not diagnosed are never reported by people, the exact rate of reactions is not known. Various studies estimate that the rate is probably less than 1% of adults, and up to 2% of children.
| Reactions to Food Additives and Preservatives
There are thousands of substances added to various foods for the purposes of coloring, flavoring and preserving. Additives are usually only a very small component of foods, but have been suspected of causing various reactions. There are many types of reactions that can occur as a result of food additives. Some of these reactions suggest an allergic cause, while many others do not appear to be allergic, but rather an intolerance.
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