Allergy to Raw Carrots

Raw carrots may seem harmless, but sometimes they can trigger an allergic reaction. Food allergies are sometimes very severe and are on the rise among youth. Oddly, some people are allergic to raw carrots but not cooked ones. It is important to take care of and be informed about your allergies to avoid severe allergic reactions and possible death.

Carrots

• Carrots are a taproot similar to a turnip or radish. A taproot is a type of vegetable that grows down into the soil with its roots as opposed to coming out of the soil and growing from a plant or tree. Carrots are native to Afghanistan and were once known as a "love medicine." Carrots come in many forms, fat and skinny and long and short. Raw carrots are orange and crunchy and baby raw carrots can be very juicy.

Allergies

• An allergy is a reaction the human body has to a foreign protein. This foreign protein can be of a food, a medicine or drug, a bee sting or pollen from trees or plants. The reaction the body has to these foreign proteins is to release histamines. The release of these histamines can cause many symptoms associated with allergies such as: runny nose and itchy eyes, hives or swelling in the area of entry, vomiting, diarrhea, trouble breathing and increased heart rate. Anaphylaxis or loss of consciousness due to drop in blood pressure may also occur in severe cases.

Theories/Speculation

• Nobody is totally sure why food allergies occur, but it is certain that they are on the rise in industrialized countries. One theory is that children are less exposed to germs and dirt in food than they were historically, creating a weak immune system. Another is that they are more isolated from the outside world, causing their immune systems to develop inadequately. The third theory is that overuse of sanitizers and germ killers has altered the immune system somehow. For whatever reason, their immune systems are attacking food proteins as if they were germs. Studies show that children who attend a daycare with other children are less likely to develop allergies.

Raw Carrots

• Uncooked plants and vegetables have defenses against being eaten which are called secondary compounds. When cooked, the potentially allergenic proteins are unraveled and are no longer targeted by the immune system. The denatured carrot proteins can no longer bind to the antibodies. If the proteins are not detected by the antibodies, a strong allergic response is not triggered.

Prevention/Solution

• There are a few ways to deal with an allergy to raw carrots. The first solution is to avoid carrots altogether. If they are causing a bad enough allergic reaction in you, it may be a good choice not to eat carrots. The other choice would be to cook them. Cooking the raw carrots will denature the proteins and render them harmless. When dealing with a medical condition, however, the best option is to see a doctor. A doctor can provide sound medical advice, medicines to deal with the allergy and emergency measures such as epinephrine pens.