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Food Allergy is an abnormal response to a food triggered by your body's immune system. Allergic reactions to food can sometimes cause serious illness and death. Tree nuts and peanuts are the leading causes of deadly allergic reactions called anaphylaxis.

In adults, the foods that most often trigger allergic reactions include

Fish and shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster and crab
Peanuts
Tree nuts, such as walnuts
Eggs

Problem foods for children are eggs, milk (especially in infants and young children) and peanuts.

Sometimes a reaction to food is not an allergy. It is often a reaction called "food intolerance". Your immune system does not cause the symptoms of food intolerance. However, these symptoms can look and feel like those of a food allergy.

Click on the links below for more information about food allergies:

Complete overview of food allergies

Food allergies and reactions

Up to date research concerning food allergies

Can A Food Allergy Develop Later in Life?

While most food allergies start in childhood, they can develop at any time in a person's life. So it's possible to develop a food allergy as an adult. It's not clear why or how this happens, but all allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly identifies a harmless substance as a dangerous invader. When you eat the food you're allergic to, the immune system releases symptom-causing substances such as histamine. Food allergy signs and symptoms can include:

Constriction and tightening of airways
A swollen throat or a lump in your throat that makes it difficult to breathe
Shock, with a severe drop in blood pressure
Rapid pulse
Dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness

A number of conditions can cause adverse food reactions. Most are caused by a food intolerance rather than a true food allergy. Unlike a true food allergy, a food intolerance doesn't involve the immune system and may not be as severe. With a food intolerance, you may be able to eat small amounts of the offending food without trouble. But if you have a true food allergy, even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can cause symptoms. In any case, diagnosis is important because either condition may require treatment and avoidance of a certain food or foods.

If your doctor suspects you do have a food allergy, you may need tests to confirm the diagnosis. Even if you've had relatively mild food allergy symptoms in the past, subsequent reactions may be more severe and even life-threatening. You'll need to completely avoid the food, and you may need an emergency epinephrine autoinjector (EpiPen, Twinject) to stop a severe or life-threatening anaphylactic reaction.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/food-allergy/AN00179/METHOD=print. Accessed 9/24/09.