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Food Allergies:            

Do you know what causes food allergies? Reactions occur when the immune system overreacts to certain proteins in food. "True food allergies affect as many as seven percent of children and about two percent of adults," says S. Allan Bock of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

There are more than 200 food ingredients that can provoke an allergic reaction, but the vast majority of reactions are caused by the "big eight" offenders: nuts (like walnuts and almonds); peanuts (they're legumes, not nuts); milk; eggs; fish; shellfish; soybeans; and wheat. (If you notice, most of these foods would appear on a list of foods good for you as a dieter.) Typical symptoms include nausea, skin rash, nasal congestion, hives, and wheezing.

Fortunately, most children outgrow their food allergies by the time they're teenagers, but some allergies -- particularly to peanuts, nuts, and seafood -- rarely disappear. These allergies require lifelong vigilance and unfortunately, you can develop new allergies at any time.

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