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.