The term allergy is an adverse reaction to a normally harmless substance which may be a food or other environmental agents such as dust, pollen, foods and chemicals. A classical allergy is used to describe those cases in which the adverse reaction to a substance usually occurs quickly, within an hour and the reaction is obvious and can be quite severe. The classic example is a peanut allergy. Symptoms can often take the form of swelling of lips and or throat. Skin rashes and wheals can appear, breathing difficulties, runny noses or digestive symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting may make themselves evident. Classic allergies are defined as having a specific immunological reaction which can be detected by a pin prick test or RAST (Radioallergosorbent test). The antibody or immunoglobulin involved here is the IgE.
Food intolerances otherwise known as delayed food allergies affect a great number of people and can develop at any time. Symptoms occur rarely immediately food is eaten. Reactions are usually delayed by several hours to days. This delayed reaction makes detection of the food culprit so difficult. The food antigen or immunoglobulin is called IgG. Food intolerance testing measures an individual’s levels of food specific IgG ‘s.
Because what one eats and drinks during pregnancy has a direct effect on the unborn child, mothers need to be sure to have eliminated allergic foods from the diet before conception. Research shows that the fetus begins producing antibodies against allergic substances as early as eleven weeks into pregnancy.
The health of the mother has a direct and profound effect on the health of the fetus in the womb. If the mother has allergies or intolerances, they must be dealt with before becoming pregnant so that the mother is as healthy as she can be. To get testing for food allergies visit – www.greatplainslaboratory.com