Gentowa

Red and white beans

are often food components used in sauces or soups. They are oftenadded to canned meat food products. The patients often cross-react to other kinds of legumes,as well.

Soya beans are the most frequently used legume worldwide. Soya is used in various forms– starting with the traditional legumes, continuing with prepared foodstuff – tofu, soya fibre,soya “meat”. The soya sauce is a part of mixed sauces and dressings. According to itsfrequent usage it belongs to the most common causes of the allergic reactions. Moreover, thedisoriented patients, especially the parents of children suffering some allergies think that soyamilk can substitute the cows´ milk. The reverse is true! Offering another allergen, althoughany cross-reaction is threatening, is unsuitable for children.

The cross-reaction occurs withpeas, peanuts and other legumes.Meals which can contain the soya protein:

● ready made baby food

● bakery products

● pudding

● bread

● hamburger

● butter adjunct

● chocolate

● meat products

● sausages

● soups

● crackers

● dressings

● deserts

● ice-cream

● canned meat

● caned fish

Peas and lentils

do not belong to often allergens in these latitudes (in India it is the fifthmost common allergen). Those allergic to these legumes should be careful. Peas are added tovarious meals, for example mayonnaise and sandwiches.

Peanuts (groundnuts)

belong to the most common food allergens at all. In the UnitedStates it is the number one in particular because of the fact, that the peanut butter iscommonly used in American cuisine. This vice has already appeared in Europe – just think ofall the Nutela peanut butters and other sweet spreads, waffle fillings, etc.The peanut as an allergen is dangerous since its oil is added to the whole range offoodstuffs, while, unfortunately, this information is not written on the cover of the foodstuff!This goes for various sauces, cakes, ice-creams and flavours. It is often used for thickeningthe meals – mostly various barbecue sauces. Traces of peanuts allergens are marked even infoodstuffs, which do not contain any peanuts at all – as a result of the previous productionprocess of the production devices. After eating such foodstuff, a serious allergic reaction wasprecipitated. In the United States several tens of people die as a result of the anaphylacticshock after eating the peanuts or their parts.The cross-reaction can occur with other legumes.

Nuts and seeds

Many seeds inside the shells are regarded as nuts, although from the botanic point ofview they do not belong to this group of fruit. As foodstuff they are used commonlywhether as food supplements because of their high level of proteins and oils, or becauseof their taste.

The seeds and nuts are often allergens and danger the allergic people perhaps the mostbecause they are contained in many food products. The various bakery products – breads,pastry, cakes, cereals, candies, sweets, ice-creams, drinks, chocolate products, desserts, milkproducts and hundreds other products contain some of the nuts or seeds. The great danger forthe allergic people lies in the fact that many products contain such a small amount of theseelements so that the producer does not declare it. The patients allergic to some of thefollowing seeds or nuts have to be very careful while choosing their foodstuffs.

Almonds

are stone fruit kernels of typical taste. According to the presence or absence of theglycoside, which is called amygdaline, they are divided into bitter and sweet types. Thekernels are eaten either alone – roasted and salted or added to various products – ice-creams,chocolates, cakes, puddings, chew gums. Be careful – the almond oil is often added tocosmetic products.

Brazil nuts

are actually seeds from huge trees, growing in the wildness of the SouthAmerica and in the rain forests of the Amazon region. The trees are not planted, but the cropand the export of the seeds forms an important part of their economy. Inside the big fruit-up totwo kilograms of weigh- with the wooden shell, 10-22 seeds are growing. The nuts with ahigh nutritional value and 60 or more percentage content of the oil and 17% of the proteins.

Food of vegetable origin Cereals

Common cereal seeds are well known allergens. In addition to the sugar, they consistof proteins, which are most responsible for the allergic reaction. Barley, wheat, rye, corn, rice,oat and millet are counted here. The reaction by which the human body is allergic to proteinsof barley, wheat and rye – gluten and gliadin should be distinguished from the classicalallergic reactions. This disease is caused by innate metabolism anomaly.

Barley

is often planted cereal for it is not only a component of the food chain, but also acereal the liquors are made of. The patients allergic to barley products and often to liquorscross-react to ray and wheat. Be careful with the beer.

Malt, mostly made of barley, is a number of germinated, dried, and ground cereal grains. Atthis process it comes to changes. Many sugars and proteins of the original cereals aredenaturalised. In addition to the production of beer and whisky, the malt is being used also asan adjunct to cereals (flakes) and filling of different cakes.

Buckwheat

does not belong to the true cereals. In Europe it belongs to often used foodstuff.It is used in the pancake filling and other pasta (spaghetti, macaroni) and is part of many babyfood products. In Japan the buckwheat belongs to major allergens – it is often used in thenoodles.

Corn

comes from America, from which it spread to the whole world. It is used in a range offoodstuff products from corn flour, but also boiled – independently, or in salads. It is often acomponent of the baby food products. The corn flour fills many foodstuff products. Whiskeyof the bourbon type (USA) is made of corn flour.

Millet

is used in Europe not so often. It is used especially in Asia. For example in India it isconsumed more frequent than the wheat in European countries. Since it cross-reacts only rarewith other cereals, this type of cereal can be used as a substitution to patients who are allergicto wheat or rice.

Oat

belongs in the last decades to frequently used foodstuff – especially as an advantageousfibrous food adjunct for example in the form of flakes typically prepared for the breakfast.It is used in soups, sauces, yogurts and different types of foodstuff.

Rice

is a basic food component of more than half of the human population. It comprises 20%of all calories consumed per day in the world. The rice flour is used as a starchy filling in therange of food products. Fortunately it does not belong to often food allergens.

Wheat

probably belongs to the most used food components in the world. Starting withtraditional bread, bakery products, cakes made from leavened dough (Europe, NorthAmerica), unleavened baked goods and pancakes (South America, Asia), pasta like couscous(Africa, Near East), macaroni, noodles, pasta (Mediterranean) – we can find wheat products inthe whole world. Wheat is very often – as so called “hidden allergen” used in other foodproducts. It is added to sausages, various smoked meat products, chips, fast food products,sauces – (commercially sold for example soya sauce) and candies. Since the sensitiveness atwheat is not rare in the case of both, adults and children, it is necessary to avoid food productscalled fast food, where even the seller need not to be aware of the information on thepresence of the wheat flour!The patients allergic to wheat can replace the wheat with rice or corn flour products.

Legumes

To these wide spread food products the following can be counted: read beans, white beans,soya beans, lentils, peas, peanuts, gum Arabic, fennel, liquorice (black sweet) . In addition topeanuts, which can be regarded as the most important food allergen, the legumes do notbelong to often causes of allergic reactions.