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Can You Develop Food Allergies In Adulthood?
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Gupta and her team discovered that shellfish allergies were the most common food allergy among adults. The shellfish allergy in particular was found to appear later in life more often than other forms of food allergies.
There were several common traits found in those who developed food allergies to shellfish as an adult. One key differentiator was “oral allergy syndrome”, which affects a small number of adults who have seasonal allergies commonly known as hay fever. It usually manifests itself as a dry, itchy, scratchy throat. Adults who experienced those symptoms with their seasonal allergies were also more likely to develop shellfish allergies. It is important to keep in mind though, that this is still a very low number.
Other correlations were found with pregnancy and experiencing a viral infection.
Smoking Gun? Not quite
While there are a lot of interesting correlations here, they are just that— correlation, not necessarily causation. It has not yet been conclusively proven what causes an adult to develop an allergy to a food they may have eaten for years without any ill effects.
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Does this mean you should cut out all 8 of the food groups above to eliminate your risk? Not at all. In spite of these new findings, food allergies still only occur in a very small percentage of adults, and the number that develop them as adults is even smaller. Statistically, your risk is very low. Still, it is important to stay aware of what the latest research is saying and to visit your doctor or an allergy specialist if you find yourself experiencing allergic symptoms at any age.
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