Have eating peanuts or other food made you sick even to the point of going to the hospital? This could be caused by food allergies. An allergic reaction to food occurs when the body responds immunologically to proteins in the food. The reaction can be minor or it can be very serious as in the case of anaphylaxis which can result in death.
Everyone can respond differently to food allergies. Even one's bodily systems can respond differently. A person can experience cramps, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. Since these symptoms are similar to other problems it is very important to be diagnosed correctly so that you receive the proper treatment.
In the respiratory system, food allergies may manifest as runny nose, scratchy throat, coughing, sneezing, or wheezing. In more severe reactions you may experience shortness of breath or difficulty swallowing. If you ever have a more severe reaction it is recommended you seek medical attention immediately.
You can have an allergic response on your skin. This may appear as hives, eczema, itching in the membranes of the eyes, skin, mouth or throat. You may experience more severe reactions of swelling of the face, lips tongue or throat. These reactions must be treated immediately as this can lead to airway restriction.
Food allergies can affect your nervous system resulting in mood swings and depression.
Some folks are predisposed to Immunoglobulin E (IgE) response. This is where antibodies are produced in the body that attack non-disease causing substances which for food allergies it is the protein in certain foods. As the food passes into the digestive tract the body releases IgE which causes other chemicals such as histamine to be released as well. This can cause swelling which will appear as an upset stomach.
An allergist usually does the diagnosis. He will review your history of reactions and could employ a battery of standard tests such as the skin prick and blood tests.
The skin prick test introduces a small amount of the allergy causing substance into the skin. The allergist then looks for a reaction. For the blood test the level of IgE antibodies is measured. Certain levels are generally considered normal and higher levels may indicate that a person is having an allergic reaction.
So what does one do? Avoidance is always the first course of action. Read the food labels and in restaurants be sure to ask for more information when in doubt. For the severe reactions Epipen can be prescribed. Epinephrine is administered which can halt a severe reaction.
Holistic cat food means that the food is all natural and yes you should be using it. One of the reasons cats live such a short time is because most cat food produces don't make nutritious food. A cat should live on average a quarter of a century but strangely enough the average life of a house cat is only eight years. This might be because of the nutritional value of the food we give them. Most store bought food is equivalent to a well known brand of junk food with creamy insides and a golden cake on the outside. Fortunately for us we eat other things besides Twinkies or our life span might not be much better off then the average cats. When you have food that is free of everything that is not found naturally then you have holistic food. The problem with cat food being holistic is that you never know what is actually in it. The cat food company's only have to claim the ingredients that are put into the food after it reaches their plant. That means that if the meat (I'm using that term loosely) was brought to the plant with preservatives in it that they could still claim that it is preservative free. By law this is okay for them to do. Another thing to think about is what kind of meat goes into your feline's food. Any thing that is not consumable by humans can be put into wet or dry food, from cancerous cow lungs to poisoned pound animals. When an animal is euthanized at the pound they use poison. Unfortunately for your cat the poison does not cook out when they process the meat. You might unknowingly be poisoning your cat when you feed him. So what should you do? One of the things you could do is to start making your cat homemade cat food. While this might sound like a time consuming option it really isn't. When your cat starts getting the proper nutrition he will eat less food so you will only need to feed your cat once a day.
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