8 "Culprits" in Food Allergy

Some of the "culprits" in food allergy. Image source: Mcclatchy-Tribune.

Eight top allergens account for 90 percent of all food allergies. The 8 top allergens can be remembered by the mnemonic TEMPS WFS:

Tree nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts)
Eggs
Milk
Peanuts
Shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp)
Wheat
Fish (bass, cod, flounder)
Soy


Eight top allergens account for 90 percent of all food allergies. See more Allergy and Immunology mind maps here.

References:

Food Allergy: A Short Review. Allergy Cases.

Clinical review: ABC of allergies, Food allergy. BMJ 1998;316:1299, figure.

Related:
Everything you need to know about food allergies. Clifford W. Bassett, M.D. MSNBC, 01/2008.

02/02/2008

Comparison of diagnostic methods for peanut, egg, and milk allergy - skin prick test (SPT) vs. specific IgE (sIgE) (click to see the spreadsheet). Sensitivity of blood allergy testing is 25-30% lower than that of skin testing, based on comparative studies (CCJM 2011).