Common Food Allergies and substitutes

Our Body is a sophisticated machine that helps us stay healthy and protect against diseases and infections. A food allergy is a serious and abnormal immune response from the body when it is not able to digest a certain kind of food. It is our own immune system that recognizes (sometimes wrongly) a specific food as a danger to the body, then as a response body produces a range of protective measures which in severe cases releases a chemical Histamine, which is responsible to cause inflammation in the body.

Food allergies are very common nowadays, they affect children mostly but they can show up anytime in an adult’s life also. The pain and struggle for people with food allergies are tough and challenging.

A food allergy not only affects the digestive system but also affects the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.

Severe reactions can be life-threatening. So in order to eat without any fear of the repercussions, one must use other food alternatives to ensure good nutrition and sound health. A list of food allergy and their substitutes are given below:-

FOOD ALLERGIES	Items Containing Allergic Food	Symptoms	SUBSTITUTE OF ALLERGIC FOOD
Milk	Milk based sweets Donuts Coffee Creamers Custard Ice- Creams Pudding White Sauces Salad dressing	Swelling Rashes Hives vomiting and in rare cases, anaphylaxis gut-based symptoms like vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, as well as inflammation of the gut wall	Soy milk Rice milk Almond milk Oat milk Coconut Milk
Egg	Eggnog Cakes Pastries Salad dressing Pies Puffs Custard Doughnuts Rolls Ice-creams Muffins Mayonnaise Pudding Soufflés Tarts Waffles	Digestive distress, such as a stomach ache Skin reactions, such as hives or a rash Respiratory problems Anaphylaxis (which is rare)	Applesauce Bananas Ground flaxseed or chia seed Gelatin A combination of baking powder, oil, and water For cooking, use silken tofu and chickpea flour for egg-free scrambles, omelettes, and other dishes. For custards and puddings, consider replacing eggs with agar powder or Coconut milk.
Fish (essential omega-3 fatty acids)	Oils sauces marinades	vomiting diarrhea, but In rare cases, anaphylaxis can also occur.	Tofu Soy Sauce Salmon tunaand halibut Ground flaxseed Almonds walnuts, or other tree nuts Healthy oils, like olive or canola oil’
Shellfish	Shrimp Prawns Crayfish Lobster Squid Scallops	digestive issues like vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.	removing all shellfish from your diet.
Peanut Products	Peanut Oils Peanut butter Chikki Chocolates Cookies Salad dressing Frozen desserts	skin prick testing skin rashes blood test Food challenges.	Cream Cheese Hummus sunflower butter Soy butter tahini (made from sesame)
Tree Nuts (Allergy to some of the nuts and seeds that come from trees.)	Nut Oils Nut butter Hazelnuts Chikki Chocolates Cookies Salad dressing Frozen desserts	Rashes diarrhea	Peanuts Sunflower seeds Sesame seeds pumpkin seeds
Soy Products	Soy flour Soy nuts Soymilk Soy Sauce	Itchy tingly mouth and runny nose to a rash and asthma or breathing difficulties. In rare cases, anaphylaxis	beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts.
Wheat Products	Flour Cookies/Biscuits Cakes Breads Doughnuts Pasta Noddle’s Crackers Vermicelli Semolina	digestive distress, hives vomiting rashes swelling and, in severe cases, anaphylaxis.	Amaranth Buckwheat Corn Jowar Bajra Quinoa Rice Tapioca Rice Pure cornmeal and potato starch are also wheat-free.
Sulphite Products (items containing Sulphites)	Baked foods Soups Jams Pickles Gravies Chips Ketchup Canned fruits & vegetables Tea Apple cider	Asthma Upset stomach diarrhea vomiting. Trouble swallowing. Flushing. Dizziness. Drop-in blood pressure. Trouble breathing.	Sulfite avoidance is safest.

Think You Have Any symptoms?

Speak to a medical practitioner. As a confirmation, he/she will probably carry out diagnostic tests. This includes Dietary review, skin prick testing, oral food challenges, and blood tests.

If confirmed, immediately consult a Doctor or a Nutrition Consultant.

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