Contents
Chocolate is the most common and loved by many sweets. Some people cannot imagine their morning without a cup of coffee with a couple of chocolates. Someone always eats a couple of slices of chocolate before an important meeting or exam to “turn on the brain”, and someone eats stress or resentment with chocolate.
Nutrition experts confirm that chocolate (real and in reasonable amounts) is really good for the body. Chocolate contains resveratrol, a natural antioxidant that reduces the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases. Chocolate increases efficiency and brain activity due to caffeine and theobromine in the composition, as well as improves mood and fights stress. But sometimes eating your favorite treat (especially in large quantities) can cause “allergy” symptoms (redness, itching, and skin rashes). What is it – an allergy or do you just need to know when to stop?
Can adults be allergic to chocolate?
To begin with, it is worth clarifying that chocolate, even without additional additives, consists of not only cocoa. It has other ingredients, including protein structures – milk, eggs, nuts, peanuts, soy (soy lecithin). Also, chocolate may contain chitin (the basis of the shell of insects, which, during the processing of cocoa beans, can get into the chocolate itself). That is why chocolate, due to its components, can cause both true allergy symptoms and pseudo-allergic reactions.
– Chocolate is a multi-component product, which also includes cocoa (in powder or in the form of butter), milk, eggs, as well as various additives – nuts, soy, peanuts, citrus peel and much more, so eating chocolate can cause an adverse reaction of the body . An allergic reaction to the cocoa beans themselves is quite rare, so most often we are talking about a pseudo-allergic reaction, says allergist-immunologist, Ph.D. Anatoly Bala.
Cocoa itself contains a large number of various substances – arginine, dopamine, epicatecin, magnesium, serotonin, tryptophan, phenylethylamine and about 300 different components, each of which can be a histamine liberator, that is, promote the release of histamine from body cells or contain histamine in pure form. The same tryptophan, serotonin and phenylethylamine contribute precisely to the antidepressant effect and can lead to the same reactions that resemble allergies. Nuts and milk, which are often found in the composition, can be a real allergy. In addition, in pursuit of cheaper product costs, some manufacturers replace (partially or completely) expensive cocoa butter with cheap palm oil or a mixture of hydrogenated fats. Numerous artificial flavors, preservatives, dyes and E-components in the composition can cause a pseudo-allergic reaction (similar in its symptoms to a true allergy, but class E immunoglobulins – IgE are not absent).
It is also worth considering that each person has his own individual susceptibility and his own level of enzymes that break down histamine. Therefore, someone can eat a bar of chocolate or a kilogram of chocolates at a time, and he will not have any reaction, and someone will start to blush and itch after the first candy.
How does an allergy to chocolate manifest itself in adults?
As we have already emphasized above, a true allergic reaction to chocolate itself, or rather cocoa, is extremely rare. But since chocolate itself is a histamine liberator, in large quantities it can cause a rash (it appears immediately or after a while), itching, hives, redness. Sometimes the reaction to chocolate manifests itself in the form of a runny nose and watery eyes, headaches, or gastrointestinal upset (pain, bloating).
If you feel that your tongue and larynx swell, it’s hard for you to breathe, a cough appears, then all this may be signs of the development of anaphylactic shock – a severe allergic reaction to peanuts, nuts, egg white, casein, soy lecithin contained in chocolate. In this case, you must urgently call an ambulance.
How to treat an allergy to chocolate in adults
If you do not abuse chocolate and do not overeat it, then no treatment is required. But if you are faced with rashes or itching, there is no need to buy all antihistamines at the pharmacy – consult your doctor.
Diagnostics
– At the appointment, the doctor collects an anamnesis, determines the need and plan for the examination. If it is an allergic reaction that is supposed, then prick tests or a search for specific IgE to each of the alleged allergens are carried out separately. If another reason for the onset of symptoms is assumed, then it is possible to conduct an examination in a therapeutic direction, the allergist-immunologist clarifies.
Modern treatments
If you experience any symptoms (redness, itching, hives) after eating chocolate, they will most likely go away on their own. If the reaction of the body is strong and causes discomfort, then the doctor may prescribe antihistamines, depending on the individual situation. The main thing is not to self-medicate, otherwise you may encounter not only side effects, but also blur the clinical picture of the disease – and this will make it difficult for a doctor to make a diagnosis, and can lead to unnecessary waste of time and money for diagnosis and treatment.
Prevention of chocolate allergy in adults at home
– The main prevention is the selection of your dose and strict adherence to it. Usually, people who have some kind of reaction when eating chocolate know their dose and will not eat chocolate in large quantities. Everything is good in moderation, he says. allergist-immunologist Anatoly Bala.
It is also worth adding: when buying, give preference to good quality chocolate with real cocoa in the composition, and not cheap palm oil. Avoid so-called confectionery bars with a lot of hydrogenated fats, dyes, preservatives and flavorings in the composition.
Popular questions and answers
The most common questions about chocolate allergies we asked allergist-immunologist Anatoly Bala.