non-allergenic foods

In the field of modern allergology, no food has been found that is 100% non-allergenic. All edible substances have the possibility of inducing allergies. The only difference lies in the probability of allergies in different groups of people.

To be honest, when I was helping at the follow-up volunteer post in the allergy department of the hospital, I saw too many cases that subverted common sense. What impressed me most was a 30-year-old programmer who sat at the door of the clinic in confusion for ten minutes with an allergen prick report. The report was clearly marked "strong positive for rice allergy." He said that he has been eating rice for 30 years and has never had any problems except for occasional stomach bloating after eating too much. This time he stayed up late for a week to catch up on projects. Last week, he ate a bowl of braised pork rice after get off work. Five minutes after eating, he developed wheezes all over his body and could not breathe. After being taken to the emergency room by a colleague, he found out that the allergen was actually the rice he eats every day.

Many people's understanding of allergies is still that they are "carried in the mother's womb" and "will occur since childhood." In fact, this is not the case at all. The number of sudden food allergy cases in adults is increasing every year, especially at points where immunity fluctuates such as fatigue, colds, and pregnancy. Foods that have been tolerated for decades may suddenly be classified as "invaders" by the immune system. It’s a bit funny to say that the threshold of the immune system is actually similar to that of your old colleagues in the office: usually you two nod and say hello every day and get along well, but if you take his place in the microwave oven for a week in a row, the other person may one day get angry and have no room to reason with you.

There is a lot of quarrel about this matter on the Internet right now, with the two schools of thought going to extremes. One group claimed that "hypoallergenic foods are absolutely safe, and allergens are due to your own special constitution." The other group said, "Since you can be allergic to anything, then just don't eat anything." In fact, objectively speaking, the definition of hypoallergenic food was originally calculated by the World Health Organization through big data statistics on the population: foods with an allergy incidence rate of less than 0.1% in the general population, such as deeply hydrolyzed protein, cabbage, lettuce, peeled apples, ordinary rice, etc., 99.9% of people eat them without any problems. They can be regarded as "relatively safe" options in daily life. There is no need to worry about the one in 100,000 probability every day. Oh, by the way, I heard someone say before that "aquagenic urticaria is an allergy to water." In fact, this perception is wrong. This kind of patient's skin will react with the sebum secreted by the skin to induce allergies after contact with water. It is not an allergy to the water molecules themselves. There are currently no cases of allergies to pure water molecules found in the world.

There is another pitfall that many people have stepped on: they think that "I am definitely not allergic to anything I have eaten since childhood." Last month, I met an aunt who came for a review. She has eaten shrimp for 40 years without any problems. The last time her daughter took her to a seafood buffet, she lost half a catty because she thought the shrimp was fresh. As soon as she finished eating, she felt that her throat was tight and she couldn't breathe. She went straight to the emergency department and was found to have a specific IgE test and found that she was allergic to shrimp. The doctor said that she never ate much shrimp before and her immune system was never triggered. But this time she was exposed to enough allergenic proteins and it immediately exploded. So don’t think that “it will be fine after taking it for decades” means it will always be safe. When your immunity is compromised, any accident may happen.

As for how ordinary people choose to eat, there is really no need to conduct complicated food allergy screenings, nor do they need to follow the so-called "hypoallergenic list". If you are not allergic, just eat and drink normally. ； If you have relatives with allergic rhinitis or asthma at home, or you have a sensitive constitution that is prone to eczema, and it is the first time you encounter strange food that you have never tasted before, such as an insect feast or a tropical fruit you have never seen before, take a small bite and wait for half an hour. If there is no numbness or rash in the mouth before eating, don't show off a big plate. Those "100% non-allergenic recipes" and "anti-allergenic exclusive ingredients" sold online are all IQ taxes. Everyone's immune system has a different temperament. If someone else eats something that is fine, it may be a landmine for you.

To put it bluntly, looking for "non-allergenic foods" is essentially looking for ingredients that are compatible with your immune system. There is no universally safe option, and there is no need to avoid eating this or that just because of the extremely low risk of allergy. After all, eating is about finding a balance between safety and happiness.