 Allergies [27]
Allergy is a disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy.
Antidepressants [29]
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia.
Arthritis [12]
Arthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body.
Cancer [26]
Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth
Cardio & Blood [1]
Risk factors for heart disease: infections
Cholesterol [2]
A fat-like substance called a lipid. It is used to build cell membranes, hormones and bile acids
Diabetes [23]
The inability of the body to produce, or the inability to metabolize, the human hormone insulin; Diabetes insipidus, usually a disorder of the ...
Epilepsy [6]
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures
Gastrointestinal [2]
The digestive tract is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food...
General Health [144]
The infant, child or young person?s current health condition
Herbal [18]
Herbal tea, herbal medicine
Hormonal [21]
Hormones - Proteins produced by organs of the body that trigger activity in other locations.
Men's Health [1]
For men on fitness, health, sex, caree
Pain relief [16]
Pain management is the medical discipline concerned with the relief of pain.
Skin care [15]
The skin is the outer covering of the body
Weight Loss [21]
Loss of body weight by dieting or due to various easting disorders or medical conditions.
Women's Health [20]
Find information on women's health issues, and lifestyle at the Women's Health
Awaiting moderation 17547 Article
|
Food allergy: allergen and adjuvants FOOD ALLERGY: ALLERGEN AND ADJUVANTS
An allergen is essentially the same thing as an antigen, except that it happens to cause an allergic reaction in a particular person. The proteins in cow's milk, for example, are antigens to most of us, but for the child with cow's-milk allergy they are allergens. The main difference between an antigen and an allergen is not in the molecule itself but in the way the individual's immune system reacts to it.
Having said that, it does seem that some foods are more 'allergenic' - more likely to cause allergies - than others. Certain foods turn up again and again as the culprits in food allergy, while other commonly eaten foods are rarely en-
countered. Why this is so, no-one can say at present, but there are several possible explanations.
Perhaps these apparently more allergenic foods contain compounds with very unusual and distinctive chemical features that are 'easily recognized'. Such compounds might induce IgE antibodies more readily than others, although it is far from certain that the structure of antigens can exert such an influence over the immune system. The whole question of how the body scrutinizes incoming antigens and regulates its response to them is still very poorly understood. As yet no-one can say what role the chemical make-up of antigens plays.
An alternative explanation is that such foods contain substances which stimulate an immune response, known collectively as adjuvants. Adjuvants are used in the laboratory as a way of inducing immune responses for research purposes. These adjuvants are mostly derived from bacteria, but there are also adjuvants found in some plants. The extent to which these occur in foods, and their potential for stimulating IgE rather than other types of antibody, is unknown.
*40\180\8*
Allergies
«Cheap Tramadol»
 Print
Viewed: 266
| Keywords for this page: Food allergy: allergen and adjuvants |
|
|
Fresh materia
What are symptoms of endometriosis: bowel symptoms, bladder symptoms, infertility