A wheat allergy is one of the most common food allergies. Unfortunately, wheat is everywhere—not just in obvious foods like breads and pastas but also in unlikely foods such as soy sauce, fried foods, some puddings and hot dogs. Manufacturers now produce many products that are free of wheat and proteins found in wheat (such as gluten), but these products often lack the nutrients found in wheat-containing foods.
Wheat allergy symptoms:
- Stomach pain and cramping
- Skin rashes
- Runny or stuffed-up nose
- Asthma
- Wheezing
- Severe anaphylactic reaction (less common)
Managing wheat allergy:
With recent medical advances1, there is another option than simply avoiding wheat altogether. A treatment known as sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has shown promise in desensitizing people to allergy-causing foods. With SLIT, an allergy serum is taken sublingually (under the tongue) where it absorbs into the bloodstream. The serum contains extracts of allergenic foods (like wheat) and serves to help people build up an immunity to these foods so it will stop overreacting to them in ways that lead to troubling symptoms.
1Click to read medical literature on SLIT. (See “Sublingual Immunotherapy for Food Allergies” articles.)