The Danger of Eating Fruits
Posted on March 10, 2010
Filed Under healthy eating |
When you eat a banana does your mouth become itchy? Does you stomach fill with gas when you eat an apple? Does your throat swell when you eat raw peaches? When you eat raw or canned pineapple does your throat burn or do you break out in hives?
Experiencing any of these symptoms may indicate that you suffer from Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) or Pollen Food Syndrome.
In the majority of cases, Oral Allergy Syndrome is linked with allergies to pollens such as ragweed, birch, plantain, and other grasses. The immune system mistakes the food proteins for the pollen proteins and causes an allergic reaction.
The sufferer may experience additional allergy reactions such as itching in the eyes or nostrils that are stuffed up. Or the person may experience redness of the lips, tongue, gums, and palate. The most severe reactions can trigger asthma or anaphylaxis shock.
In the majority of cases, the primary culprits are fruits and nuts. But other foods can cause these symptoms as well. This disease can be especially discomforting for strict vegetarians who want to eat raw fruits and vegetables.
Generally OAS is associated with eating raw foods. So if the food is cooked, this will usually prevent an OAS reaction from occurring. This is because the proteins in these foods are temperature sensitive. Heating them usually makes them far less allergenic because they change the basic nature of the protein to one that the immune system does not recognize.
This is not always true, however. In some cases the symptoms will merely move to the intestines where you’ll experience gas, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, or other gastrointestinal distress.
Most of the time OAS is not a life-threatening condition. In addition, in most cases the discomfort will only last for a few minutes. For others, however, the reactions can be severe and even be life threatening.
Normally, Oral Allergy Syndrome is treated simply by giving the patient an allergy shot. These shots work by slowly building up a person’s resistance to allergens until they no longer have an effect on him.
The people most at risk for OAS are those with asthma or hay fever allergies. Those susceptible to OAS usually experience symptoms right away. If you experience symptoms such as your throat passages narrowing or vomiting, you should contact your physician immediately.
Al Jeffries is an author and researcher for a1-allergies.com . Please visit his website for more allergy related articles such as pollen allergy, dog allergy treatment, and seasonal allergy relief / cure.
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