Food Allergy in Clinical Practice

Food allergy is increasingly prevalent in the US, with as many as 3 million individuals reporting allergies to peanuts or tree nuts and more than 6.5 million to seafood. Food-induced allergic reactions are responsible for a host of symptoms involving the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and skin. Though it is possible for any food to provoke an allergic reaction, relatively few foods are responsible for the majority of food-related reactions. Ongoing research seeks to identify new therapeutic strategies for treatment of food allergy; however, the only current treatment for patients is avoidance of their food trigger.