Chocolate Allergy

A less common type of food allergy is chocolate allergy.  Although most people are free to eat chocolates without getting any negative body reactions, there are people who are extremely sensitive to this food that they cannot eat even a small amount of chocolate at all.

What is the real cause of chocolate allergy?  Chocolates are made out of cocoa beans.  These beans are fermented, roasted, grinded, and processed in order to make chocolates. Usually, the process of making chocolates are done by adding other ingredients such as sugar, gluten, soy lecithin, milk, corn syrup, and sometimes fruits and nuts depending on the kind of chocolate and flavor desired.  Usually, allergic reactions from chocolates are triggered by either one of these additional ingredients.

For instance, a person who ate chocolates with even just the tiniest amounts of nuts in it can have severe allergic reactions.  If the chocolates are made from a factory that uses the same machines they use when processing chocolates with nuts, these can also lead to allergies.  Therefore, a person with chocolate allergy is in fact, allergic to a substance or the allergen that is mixed within the chocolate.  However, there are a few cases when the allergen or the cause of allergy in a person is cocoa itself.

Like other food allergies, a person having an allergic reaction from eating chocolates may experience skin rashes, itching, hives, headache, and tightness of throat, dizziness, and difficulty breathing.  Chocolate allergy can trigger asthma in people with respiratory-related diseases.  An allergy attack can be so severe that when left untreated, it can lead to serious damages or even death.

Is there a way to avoid chocolate allergy?  Unfortunately, the only way to prevent allergic attacks is to avoid eating chocolates altogether.  A person may not know that he is allergic to chocolates unless he experiences an allergic reaction.  Therefore, the best way to be sure is to see an allergy doctor who will conduct and allergy test either through skin test or through blood test.  This way, the main cause of allergy can be accurately identified and be avoided. 

Like in any food allergy, the doctor will prescribe an anti-allergy drug that can be taken in case a person accidental ingests food that contains chocolate or other allergy-causing substance.  People suffering from chocolate allergy attacks must be given anti-allergy drugs or be taken to the hospital right away to avoid fatal results.