Do you get allergic reactions after eating a food? The secret to finding the cause with a Food Diary (Food Allergy)

Imagine eating your favorite food and then your whole body starts to redden and itch, or you suddenly feel sick to your stomach. You may even find it difficult to breathe. No matter how much you think, "Why did I eat this?", you may be in a lot of trouble because you can't figure out the reason. This is actually a common problem for many people. Some foods can cause allergies in our bodies without us realizing it. But the good news is that we can do a little detective work and catch these thieves. The best way to do this is to keep a food diary .

Simply put, what is a food allergy?

It's very simple. Our body has an immune system. Its job is to protect us from germs that cause disease. But sometimes, this system goes a little crazy. At that time, it mistakenly identifies something that is not really harmful, for example, a protein found in foods like milk, eggs, peanuts, or shrimp, as a big enemy.

Why is it so difficult to find the cause of this allergy?

There are several main reasons for this.

• Symptoms take time to appear: Sometimes an allergy only appears hours after you eat. Then you forget what you ate before.
• We eat a mix of foods: We don't eat the same thing at one meal. We eat several types of curries with rice. If we eat bread, we eat it with jam and butter. So it's hard to say exactly what we're allergic to.

Imagine this scenario. You went to a friend's birthday party. There, you ate a lot of things like cake, sausages, cutlets, and ice cream . Within two or three hours of coming home, you had small blisters all over your body. Now how do you know if it was because of the eggs in the cake, the fish in the cutlets, or the nuts in the ice cream? That's when the Food Diary comes to our rescue.

How to write a food diary correctly?

This is very easy. All you need is a notebook and a pen. Or you can even write it down on your phone. The most important thing is to write down everything you eat and drink every day, including your main meals, snacks, and even drinks . You should also write down any symptoms you experience and when they started.

It will be easier for you if you create a table like this.

Now look, looking at this table, we get an idea. There was no problem after breakfast. But the symptoms started after eating fried shrimp at noon. If you keep writing like this for about two weeks, you will start to see a pattern.

What do you do next after using the diary?

This is where the most important thing is. This diary is just a help to you.

Never look at this diary and decide, "Oh... I'm bad at eating junk food," and then completely stop eating those foods. If you do, you could lose out on the nutrition you need.

The best thing you can do is to complete the Food Diary in this way for about two weeks or a month, and take it with you to see your doctor . Then he can examine this diary and understand your exact symptom patterns. After that, he can refer you for the necessary medical tests (e.g. Allergy Test) to confirm whether you really have an allergy and to what food.

Be careful! If you experience these severe symptoms, go to the hospital immediately.

Food allergies are usually not serious. However, sometimes, a severe condition called anaphylaxis can occur, which can be life-threatening. If you experience one or more of the following symptoms, do not waste time and go to the nearest hospital emergency room (ETU) .

• Severe difficulty breathing or a wheezing sound coming from the chest
• Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
• Severe dizziness, blurred vision, or loss of consciousness
• A rash that spreads rapidly and is intensely itchy all over the body
• Severe stomach pain or persistent vomiting

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