What Are Allergies
An allergy is when your body reacts to certain substances that are normally harmless, such as dust or pollen. These substances are known as ‘allergens’ when they cause an ‘allergy’. The symptoms of the reaction can range from being unnoticeable, to mild or even very serious in certain circumstances.
When you have an allergy, your body identifies these unharmful substances as a threat to your body (even though they are not) and will make antibodies to fight them [iii]. When this happens, your body can react in a whole variety of different ways, including inflaming your skin, causing digestive issues, having a runny nose/sneezing, causing pain, itching, swelling, nausea and much more [i] [iii].
NHS England details that the most common allergies are usually from the following [i]:
- Dust and house dust mites
- Animal fur
- Certain medicines
- Foods, especially those containing peanuts, milk and eggs
- Pollen from grass and trees (also known as hay fever which you can read more about in our blog here)
The most important step you can do to understand if you or a loved one could have an allergy is to contact your local GP and discuss any symptoms you may be having with them.
Food Allergies
Food allergies can be extremely serious, especially for those suffering from Anaphylaxis, where the symptoms could be life-threatening [iv].
A food allergy is similar to the above explanation, in that your body reacts to unharmful substances and treats them as a threat. In the case of food allergies, this is when the body reacts to the proteins found in food and mistakenly thinks that these are going to cause harm to your body. Your body’s immune system then reacts by releasing chemicals which can then cause a variety of different symptoms associated with food allergies [iv].
When it comes to food allergies specifically, the most common causes of symptoms can include [iv]:
- Itching inside your mouth, in the throat or ears.
- Causing a raised itchy red rash
- Vomiting
- Swelling of the roof of your mouth, tongue, lips, around your eyes and face.
It’s important to note that an individual could have an allergy to almost any type of food, but the most common causes tend to be from milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, wheat, tree nuts, fish and sesame [v].
You can find more information on allergies on the NHS website, along with information on when you should seek medical advice.
What Does Allergen Free Mean
The Foods Standard Agency classifies that there are 14 major allergens when it comes to food and that businesses must disclose information on any that can be found in their food products by law [iii].
The list of the 14 major food allergens is:
- Celery
- Cereal containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupins
- Milk
- Mollusc
- Mustard
- Nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur Dioxide
- Soya
More information on these specific allergens can be found via a PDF supplied by the Foods Standard Agency here.
At Nourished our gummy stacks are free from the 14 major allergies, gluten-free and lactose-free, but as previously stated in this blog, there are many more allergens outside of the 14. If you have a specific allergy, we recommend you seek advice from a medical practitioner before consuming our products.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Customer Love team at: customerlove@get-nourished.com
How to Get Your Personalised Gummies at Nourished?
If you would like to purchase one of our Nourished products then you can take our quick and easy quiz right now on our website and we will recommend a unique gummy stack of scientifically-backed ingredients just for you.
With millions of potential different stack combinations, you can also create your own gummy from our Lab, which will then be freshly 3D-printed by Nourished and delivered directly to your door.
Want to Learn More About Allergies?
To find out more about the allergies, research and studies mentioned in this article then click the links listed below or visit the website research page here:
[i] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/allergies/
[ii] https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/14-Allergens%2016Nov21.pdf
[iii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351497
[iv] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/food-allergy/
[v] https://www.foodallergy.org/living-food-allergies/food-allergy-essentials/common-allergens
