What Is Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome?
Have you ever noticed that your allergies seem to get worse after you eat certain foods? This is actually known as Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS for short ) or Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome (PFAS). According to stanfordhealthcare.org, up to 70% of those with pollen allergies suffer with this syndrome. That's a whole lot of people who are suffering out there.
But what is it exactly? This syndrome generally begins to appear in older children and adults with pollen allergies. It's actually a cross reaction of allergens found in raw vegetables, fruit, pollen and even some nuts. The proteins in these foods are very similar to pollen and this can cause an allergic reaction in the mouth and throat. Symptoms can include scratchy throat, itchy mouth, itchy ears, swelling of the throat, tongue, lips and mouth and hives in the mouth. These symptoms rarely expand past this and generally begin to subside once the food is removed or swallowed.
There is some good news in all this though. You can change the protein composition of those foods through cooking or canning. By doing this your immune system can no longer recognize that changed protein which means you can still potentially enjoy that food. For example, you may not be able to eat a specific raw fruit but buy cooking or baking it you can. Another thing to note is that you can actually have a reaction to one type of fruit or vegetable and not another. For example you may be able to eat one variety of apple raw but not another. Some people also find that simply peeling that fruit or vegetable can help too. Everyone's different, and each persons experiences are unique so the trick is finding out what works best for you.
But honestly, avoiding the foods that bothers you is key if you want to avoid these allergy symptoms, especially if your symptom's are more severe.
I've included a simple list below to help you recognize some of the triggers for OAS/PFAS.
Birch pollen: apricot, avocado, apple, almond, bananas, carrot, celery, coriander, cherry, fennel, fig, hazelnut, kiwi, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, parsley, parsnip, pears, peppers, potato, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat, peanuts.
Alder Pollen: almonds, apples, celery, cherries, hazelnuts, peaches, pears, parsley.
Grass pollen: celery, melons, oranges, peaches, tomato, fig.
Possible cross reactions to all of the above: berries, citrus, grapes, mango, fig, peanut, pineapple, pomegranates, watermelon.
To download a pollan and allergy food chart or for further information check out this very helpful link:
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