Abstract:
Food allergy is defined as ‘sensitisation to a food with a convincing
history of a reaction to the food in the preceding year, or a
positive food challenge’. In the past, food allergy incidences in
South Africa were scarce, especially in the black population
group; but, researchers are of the opinion that South Africa is
now joining the second wave of the food allergy epidemic.
Limited research has been done on food allergies in South
Africa. Even though the prevalence of food allergies in South
Africa is rising, there are still no local guidelines to mitigate
suitable risk reducing strategies. Therefore, the primary way of
reducing food allergies and related symptoms is strict avoidance
of the causative food. In doing so, these individuals may be
reducing the nutritional status of their diet, which can lead to a
lack of energy and as a result decreased activity and fatigue as
well as a lack of essential macro and micronutrients that in some
cases result in decreased growth and in rare cases scurvy and
pellagra. The chance of following an unbalanced diet due to
avoidance of food causing allergic reactions can also result in
increased food intake and consequently obesity.
