Allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in foods? You may have to watch what your fruits and veggies eat

Allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in foods? You may have to watch what your fruits and veggies eat -- ScienceDaily

Food allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis: Learning what to avoid

Food allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis: Learning what to avoid
-Sandra Hong, MD, Nicola Vogel, MD
doi: 10.3949/ccjm.77a.09018 Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine January 2010 vol. 77 1 51-59. (c)2010 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Excerpts:

• The gut flora. When mice are raised in a germ-free environment, they fail to develop normal tolerance.They are also more likely to become sensitized if they are treated with antibiotics or if they lack toll-like receptors that recognize bacterial lipopolysaccharides. Furthermore, human studies suggest that probiotics promote tolerance, especially in preventing atopic dermatitis, although the studies have had conflicting results.
• The gastric pH. Murine and human studies reveal that antacid medications increase the risk of food allergy.
• Three types of immune responses to food. About 20% of all people alter their diet because of concerns about adverse reactions to foods. These adverse reactions include metabolic disorders (eg, lactose intolerance), a reaction to a pharmacologic component such as caffeine or a toxic contaminant of a food (eg, bacterial food poisoning), psychological reactions (eg, food aversion), and documented immunologic responses to a food (eg, food allergy)
  Immunologic reactions to foods can be divided into three categories: mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE), non-IgE-mediated, and mixed. Therefore, these disorders can present as an acute, potentially life-threatening reaction or as a chronic disease such as eosinophilic gastoenteropathy.