It’s very important for people with severe food allergies to avoid the foods they’re allergic too. For them, eating even a small amount of nuts or seafood could be life-threatening.
Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food allergy reactions. In the industry, they’re often referred to as the Big 8.
In 2004, The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act was put in place to make life a little bit easier and safer for these folks. It mandates that food labels must declare whether or not a product may contain allergens.
According to a new review in the Journal Nutrition Today, milk or dairy is by far the most commonly diagnosed food allergy, affecting 2 percent of the adult population, or one out of every 50 people.
Eating a food is not a way to treat an existing food allergy. Right now, avoiding the allergen is the only way to prevent a potentially dangerous reaction.
Assuming that you do not have an actual allergy or intolerance, there would be no reason to avoid them or to prioritize foods that exclude them. In fact, building a healthy and nutritious diet is a lot easier when you do include them.