Can you be allergic to bht

Substances added to foods and beverages are called food additives. Thousands of food additives exist, and they may be manmade chemicals or natural substances. Common food additives include:. In simple terms, an adverse reaction is any undesirable reaction from a food or food additive other than the nourishment the food is supposed to provide to the body. Adverse reactions often depend on your expectations. For example, many people drink coffee and tea so that the caffeine in the beverage will help them stay mentally alert, a desirable effect.

Adverse reactions can occur through a variety of mechanisms. Some reactions, such as the stimulant effect of caffeine, are known pharmacologic effects of the chemical, caffeine. Pharmacologic effects typically occur to a greater or lesser degree in all individuals. Adverse effects can also occur because of intolerance to the food.

Food intolerances are usually related to individual differences in how a person digests, absorbs, or metabolizes a food. A common example of food intolerance is the symptoms some people get after ingestion of milk because their gastrointestinal tracts cannot breakdown lactose, the sugar in milk.

Allergy reactions to foods are another type of adverse reaction to a food. Eight different food additives are commonly known to cause adverse reactions. These are described briefly below. The term, sulfites encompasses a variety of very small chemicals that are commonly used as preservatives in foods. Sulfites prevent foods from turning brown when the food is exposed to air. Some of these are naturally occurring while most are added artificially to foods.

Sulfites can cause mild to life- threatening symptoms in some people with asthma. Symptoms of adverse reactions to sulfites include: tightness in the chest, breathing difficulty, hives, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and sometimes, anaphylactic shock. Sulfites are most often found in wine, dried fruits, white grape juice, frozen potatoes, maraschino cherries, fresh shrimp, and certain jams and jellies.

At one time, sulfites were used on fresh fruits and vegetables, such as in salad bars, to help retain color and freshness; however, the Food and Drug Administration FDA has banned use of sulfites for such use.

Aspartame Nutrasweet is a calorie-free sweetener used in many foods and beverages. People who have a problem metabolizing the amino acid phenylalanine should not consume aspartame.

Many other types of adverse reactions have been reported in relationship to aspartame but these reactions have not been adequately verified to conclude that they are truly caused by aspartame. Parabens are used to preserve foods and medications. They also are used in sunscreens and shampoos where they can cause reactions such as severe contact dermatitis. Examples of parabens are ethyl-, methyl-, propyl-, and butyl-parabens.

Tartrazine is a yellow dye most commonly used in beverages, candy, ice cream, desserts, cheese, canned vegetables, hot dogs, salad dressing, seasoning salts, and catsup. Adverse reactions can include hives or swelling, and possibly a trigger for asthma symptoms; however, studies have not documented this relationship. Even though many studies have been done, it has been difficult to find children who consistently adversely react to tartrazine or other food dyes.

Manufacturers and restaurants use MSG to enhance flavor in packaged meats and foods. Adverse reactions can cause headache, a burning sensation on the back of the neck, chest tightness, nausea, diarrhea, and sweating. There are rare reports that people with asthma who have consumed MSG have more severe asthma episodes.

Nitrates and nitrites are chemicals used to preserve foods, prevent deadly botulism infection, enhance flavors, and color foods. Symptoms are rare, but may include headache or hives in some people.

Nitrates and nitrites are commonly used in hot dogs, bologna, salami, and other processed meats and fish. Knowing which one of these two health impacts will determine how you can best avoid any immediate symptoms and long-term consequences. An allergy is when our body has an inappropriate or exaggerated response to any particle usually to a certain food or a certain air particle. Usually, when we eat food, our digestive system breaks food down into smaller pieces so that we can absorb nutrients.

You may have symptoms of:. The one difference is that being exposed to one tiny drop of something that you allergic to could immediately trigger all of the symptoms above. Generally speaking, the symptoms of a food intolerance appear with slower onset after eating the food i. You can either be born with allergies or you can develop allergies at any given point in your life. Lactose intolerance is the perfect example of this — a person is lactose intolerant if they do not have lactase, the enzyme that breaks lactose down.

Sometimes stress and other environmental factors can cause symptoms similar to a food allergy or food intolerance. Food intolerance I roughly know what food might be causing my symptoms. Start by trying to exclude this food from your diet for at least 2 weeks. Re-introduce the food after 2 weeks and see if your symptoms come and go.

The allergy evaluation begins with a thorough history to look for possible triggers of the symptoms that you are experiencing or have experienced. In cases in which there is no clear trigger, allergy testing for multiple foods or allergens can be preformed. There are two main ways that you can have allergy testing done — the skin prick test or by one simple blood test. Skin prick tests can be slightly uncomfortable itchy but are usually well tolerated, even by small children. Local itch and swelling normally subside within hours.

The skin prick test is considered to be more convenient and you can get the results in 20 minutes, but if a severe reaction to an allergen such as peanuts then blood testing is safer. The second option is allergy testing by one simple blood test. Pay special attention to sauces. If a food has a sauce, make sure to ask your server if it was made from totally fresh ingredients of if it might contain foods with additives, specifically BHA or BHT.

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