Hypoallergenic diet

Allergy is the hypersensitivity of the body to certain substances (allergens), expressed in a specific reaction upon contact with these substances. Food allergy is the reaction of the body to certain foods or groups of foods.

Nonspecific hypoallergenic diet performs two functions. First, it helps to identify products,causing an allergic reaction (diagnostic function). Secondly, it allows you to protect the body from the effects of allergens and get rid of the manifestations of allergies (therapeutic function).

Hypoallergenic diet is based on the division of food into three large groups: highly allergenic (most often causingallergic reaction), medium allergenic and low allergenic. Nonspecific hypoallergenic diet involves the exclusion from the diet of highly allergenic products and a serious restriction on the use of medium allergenic products (if excluded from completely not obtained).

To highly allergenic foodstuffs it is possible to carry:

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  seafood, caviar, many varieties of fish
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  whole milk products, cow's milk, cheeses
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  eggs
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  smoked and smoked products
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  canned food, marinated products
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  sauces, condiments, spices
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  some vegetables, many berries and fruits (especially red and orange), drinks from them
• 
  many dried fruits
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  citrus
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  mushrooms
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  honey
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  nuts
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  sweets: chocolate, caramel, marmalade
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  cocoa, coffee
• 
  alcohol
• 
  exotic products
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  products containing flavors, colorants, preservatives, emulsifiers and other food additives

The average allergenic products include:

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  part of cereals (mainly wheat, sometimes rye)
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  buckwheat, corn
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  fatty pork, lamb, turkey, horse meat, rabbit meat
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  some fruits, berries and vegetables
• 
  herbal infusions

Nonspecific hypoallergenic dietinvolves the replacement of high and medium allergenic products with low allergenic: the nutritional value of the diet remains, but the risk of allergic reactions is minimal. Lowallergenic products include:

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  dairy products
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  low-fat boiled or stewed meat (chicken, lean beef and pork)
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  selected fish species
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  offal
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  bread
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  greens and some vegetables
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  rice, pearl barley, oatmeal, semolina
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  olive, sunflower, butter
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  some fruits (mostly green and white) and compotes of them
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  some dried fruits (prunes, dried pears and apples)
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  decoction
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  loose tea
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  still mineral water

When buying low-allergenic products, be sure to pay attention to their composition. For example, in the theory of yogurt - low allergenicproduct, because it refers to sour-milk products. In practice many artificial yoghurts add artificial colors and flavors, which are strong allergens.

Nonspecific hypoallergenic diet is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, all potential allergens are excluded from the diet until the condition improves and the allergic reaction disappears. Usually for adults, this period is two to three weeks, for children - seven to ten days.

At the second stage, the ration starts to enter in turn the excluded products with an interval of three days. If during this time, allergic reactions are notrenewed, then this product can be eaten. If the introduction of a new product is accompanied by symptoms of an allergy, then it is an allergen. But even if you have identified one allergen, you can not stop the gradual introduction of foods into the diet: there may be several allergens, and you need to check absolutely every product.

If during the first stage allergy symptoms do not go away, you need gradually exclude from the diet products, starting with the most likely allergens. But this should be done only under the supervision of a doctor, because there is a risk of making the diet unbalanced.

When allergens are identified, a nonspecific hypoallergenic diet is replaced by an individual diet. Individual diet for allergies picks a dietician.