Food allergies are something every parent keeps an eye out for when their child begins to eat foods other than breast milk or formula. A food allergy happens when the body decides to recognize a harmless food product such as peanut butter or eggs as something dangerous and reacts accordingly. When the body’s immune system perceives a food to be a threat, it reacts by turning loose histamines to fight the battle. Histamines cause the symptoms of the allergy attack and can be as mild as rashes or as severe as breathing problems. In severe cases, a food allergy is life threatening.

Food allergies can and do run in families, meaning they can be passed down from one or both parents to child. If one parent has food allergies, the chances are 50% that the child could develop a food allergy. If both parents have food allergies, then the chances go up to 75% that the child or children could also have food allergies. It is important to note that in the case of food allergies, what is inherited by the child from one or both of the parents is not necessarily the specific food allergy, but the predisposition to have a food allergy in general. This means that if you are allergic to peanut butter, your child inherits a bias towards food allergies in general but not necessarily to peanut butter. So all foods must be watched when first giving them to a child in the case where parents suffer from food allergies. Typically a child’s first allergic reaction to a food will happen after the second exposure to the offending food item.

What is the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance? Food intolerances are actually more common than bona fide food allergies, for one thing. Secondly, food intolerances do not involve the immune system, therefore they are typically not nearly as threatening to the child’s health as a food allergy might be. Foods that cause intolerance can usually be eaten in small doses without problems while foods that cause allergic reactions should be avoided.