Food Allergy - Common Misconceptions

Anil Kumar and Emily Pond
Created On
Mar 15 2022
Last Updated
Mar 15 2022

Correlation to similar foods

Having an allergy to a food does not mean that a person will also have an allergy to related foods.  For example, if one had an allergy to peanuts, which are legumes, that person would not necessarily be allergic to other legumes as well.

For more information about food allergies and food intolerances check out this link: 

https://rxhometest.com/article/food-sensitivity

Source:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy: Assessment of the Global Burden, Causes, Prevention, Management, and Public Policy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23658.

Severity

The concentration of antibodies from a blood test is not correlated to the severity of the allergic reaction.  Many other factors influence allergic reaction severity, such as asthma and individual sensitivity.

For more information about food allergies and food intolerances check out this link: 

https://rxhometest.com/article/food-sensitivity

Testing Positive

A positive skin or blood allergy test does not mean that a food allergy is present.  For example, about 8% of people that test positive for a peanut allergy are not allergic to peanuts and can eat it without any symptoms.

For more information about food allergies and food intolerances check out this link: 

https://rxhometest.com/article/food-sensitivity

Source:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy: Assessment of the Global Burden, Causes, Prevention, Management, and Public Policy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23658.

Testing Negative

The chance of a false negative with allergy tests is low (about 5%), but it can still happen.  So, even a negative allergy test may not mean that the food is safe to eat.

For more information about food allergies and food intolerances check out this link: 

https://rxhometest.com/article/food-sensitivity

Source:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy: Assessment of the Global Burden, Causes, Prevention, Management, and Public Policy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23658.

A cure-all test

There is not one comprehensive food allergy test that exists that can identify all food allergies.  Food allergies are diagnosed by carefully looking through medical history and selecting tests based on that.

For more information about food allergies and food intolerances check out this link: 

https://rxhometest.com/article/food-sensitivity

Source:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy: Assessment of the Global Burden, Causes, Prevention, Management, and Public Policy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23658.