Food allergy: system immunologic and main food involved

Abstract

Food allergy can be defined as an adverse reaction to a food antigen mediated by fundamentally immunological mechanisms. It is a nutritional problem that has shown an increase in the last decades probably due to the population’s exposure to a higher number of available food allergens. It has become a health problem worldwide being associated to a significant negative impact on life quality. The foods most cited as those which cause food allergy are: milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, shrimps, fish and soy bean. The main food allergens are protein-nature ones. There must be investment in research in order to reduce the damage caused by foods containing allergens. Biotechnology studies can be considered an efficient and safe alternative. The purpose of this research is to present an updated review on food allergies focusing on its action mechanism in the body, main food involved and alternatives that have been used to minimize this problem.