A new survey has suggested that millions of Americans might be mistaken about their food allergy, which also could be self-professed. Surprisingly it was found that about 20 percent of people said that they had food allergy but the fact was that only half as many people reported the kind of symptoms that one could expect from eating something that they are allergic to.
More than 40,000 adults were surveyed by the researchers through the medium of phone and internet between October 2015 and September 2016. The volunteers who participated in the survey were asked if they had suffered from any food allergies and about what symptoms they typically had. The volunteers were also asked if they had ever been formally tested and diagnosed with a food allergy by a doctor. 19 percent of the nationally representative group had reported having a food allergy but just ten percent said that they had symptoms consistent with an allergic reaction too food like hives, swelling of lips or throat and chest pain.
The major culprits behind such food allergies were milk, shellfish and tree nuts. People who did not have a convincing food allergy instead reported of symptoms like a stuffy nose, stomach cramps or nausea. The findings of the survey were published in the JAMA Network Open and had roughly matched up to the estimates from other studies that included those that had confirmed a person’s food allergy with medical records or testing. While talking about the U.S population the study has estimated that there are about 26 million adult Americans who have food allergy. At the same time there are also many Americans who wrongly say that they suffer from food allergy.
The actual allergies are known when the immune system over reacts very quickly and also in a specific way to a foreign substance that is harmless to us, it can be food or even a piece of clothing.
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