News of World Medicine

Scientists say that food allergy may be caused by products’ odor

Food allergy is wide spread all over the world. A recently conducted investigation claims that for its development it is even not necessary to ingest allergens.

The odor of these products itself is dangerous for highly allergic individuals, The Times of India writes.

Sense of smell is one of important senses that help people receive information about their environment. At the background of increasing air contamination, it is not surprising, which some odors that have not caused allergy before, now may lead to undesirable reaction. 

As an allergist Sheila De Souza notes, people are not born with allergy. It develops during their lives. Due to contaminating substances our immune system gets weaker. That is why allergies are able to develop in "unexpected way". In order to neutralize harmful elements, our immune system attacks them, and during this process it releases chemical substances, such as histamine, which cause an allergic reaction as sneezing, headaches and itching. 

Allergy may be caused by the odor of perfumes, soap, shampoo, air freshener. In this connection world public has been calling upon for a long time to use cosmetic products without odorants. In addition, allergy may have psychosomatic origin and in future turns into a real disease. For example, some people are concerned about certain odors, knowing that somebody else is allergic to them. As a result, they develop allergy themselves. 

According to the words of a nutritionist Niti Prabhu, allergy to certain products may be connected with allergy to a particular ingredient of this or that food product. They often include different oils (coconut oil, sesame oil). Odors of dairy products and seafood are also dangerous for highly allergic individuals.