Guest Author - Deborah Markus

I'm reading a book called Flourishing With Food Allergies, by A. Anderson. The book is primarily aimed at families with young children; but I'm finding it of personal interest because, although my son has no food allergies, my husband does.

My husband is one of those unfortunate (and, thankfully, unusual) individuals who had no food allergies as a child, but was struck with a spate of them as an adult. We are dealing with the same things that parents of children with food allergies grapple with. We went through the difficult and often painful and frightening process of figuring out what foods provoked a reaction. And one of those foods was chocolate.

True chocolate allergies are rare. From this book, and from information available on sites such as Healthology (www.healthology.com), WebMD (www.medmd.com), and the web site for the International Food Information Council (ific.org), I've learned that chocolate isn't on the list of the "big eight" -- the foods that make up the vast majority of triggers for allergic reactions in people. Those eight are peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, fish, and shellfish. That doesn't mean that my husband isn't allergic to chocolate. It only means that chocolate allergies are very rare.

I've also learned that people are too apt to call any negative response to a food an "allergy." Often, an unpleasant reaction to eating something is an intolerance rather than a true food allergy. There is, for instance, a difference between a milk allergy and being lactose intolerant.

A food intolerance is an uncomfortable response to the consumption of a food that engages the digestive system. Someone who is lactose intolerant might feel fine immediately after consuming a dairy product, but might experience discomfort much later -- possibly cramps, bloating, or nausea.

A food allergy engages the immune system. The body's reaction to the trigger is generally felt much more quickly than is the response to a food intolerance, and depending on the severity of the allergy, the food may not have to be consumed to trigger a reaction. My husband can feel tingling in his mouth, a swelling in his tongue, and tightening in his breathing just from smelling the foods he's most allergic to -- including chocolate. He has also experienced angry rashes from contact with certain allergens.

Many people who report the symptoms of a true food allergy to chocolate may be responding to an ingredient in the chocolate they're consuming. For instance, even dark chocolate often contains milk or other dairy products. And many chocolate candies either contain peanuts or tree nuts (common allergens) or are manufactured on equipment that also processes these foods.

My husband, however, had an immediate and very unpleasant response to consuming an organic cacao nib -- that is, a bit of the seed of the plant that is the primary ingredient in chocolate. He seems to have that rarity -- a true chocolate allergy.

As food allergies can be life-threatening, we take his seriously. He is under the care of a specialist, who has helped us isolate my husband's triggers and decide on a good course of treatment (in our case, medication combined with a strict avoidance of triggers).

The good news is that even an adult-onset allergy does not have to be a permanent thing. After years of reading labels, radically adjusting our diets, and making a lot of emergency trips to the doctor, we are seeing some positive changes. My husband's severe peanut allergy has gone into remission, hopefully never to return. And some of his other allergies seem to be less intense than they were. Chocolate, sadly, is still a problem for him.

If you suspect you have an allergy to chocolate (or to any other food), don't write it off as no big deal. Food allergies are very serious things. Find a doctor who will work with you to figure out what's causing your reaction and what you can do to lead the healthiest life possible.