What foods are responsible for my allergies?

It can be tricky to identify what food is causing your allergic reaction, especially if you're reacting to a spice. Such less obvious reactions will require a bit of detective work.

Answers to these questions can be revealing:

• When did the reaction occur?
• Does the reaction in question happen after eating a certain meal or food?
• Was the food that caused the reaction fully cooked?
• What else was eaten (including spices, beverages, condiments...)?
• Did anyone who ate what you did experience the same symptoms?

When you have a food allergy, your immune system mistakenly identifies a specific food or substance in food as something harmful.  Your immune system triggers cells to release antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to neutralize the culprit food or food substance (the allergen).  The next time you eat even the smallest amount of that food, the IgE antibodies sense it and signal your immune system to release a chemical called histamine, as well as other chemicals, into your bloodstream.  The majority of food allergies are triggered by certain proteins in: 
Shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster and crab
Peanuts
Tree nuts such as walnuts and pecans
Fish
Eggs
In children, food allergies are commonly triggered by proteins in:
Eggs
Milk
Peanuts
Tree nuts
Wheat
Chocolate, long thought by some people to cause food allergies in children, rarely triggers a food allergy.

Any food can cause a food allergic reaction. This said, 90% of all food allergies are caused by 8 common foods:

• dairy
• eggs,
• wheat
• soy
• peanuts
• tree nuts
• fish
• shellfish