Allergy. A small number of people are allergic to pure ethanol, but the bigger culprits behind true allergic responses are base ingredients, including barley, hops, yeast and grapes. Agents that are derived from foods such as egg and seafood are often used to clarify wine, but in such minuscule quantities that many question whether they pose a serious risk. Symptoms of true allergic reactions can include congestion, runny nose, swelling, hives, asthma, and in rare cases, anaphylaxis.

Allergy-like reactions. A person who reacts to alcohol may have classic allergy symptoms, but it may not be a “true” allergy. For example, reactions to sulfites in wine are not considered true allergic responses because the underlying physiological mechanism is different – and yet the sulfite-sensitive may experience asthma and even anaphylaxis. Glycoproteins are suspected of producing either allergy or allergy-like reactions.

Intolerance. Substances commonly found in wine including histamine (more often in reds than whites) can lead to sneezing, flushing, headache, diarrhea, skin itch and shortness of breath. Other amines such as tyramine and tryptamine, may play a role in alcohol intolerance; and salicylate, a chemical found in grapes, yeast, wine, beer and many foods, can lead to hives and eczema.

Asian Flush. Many people of Asian descent experience flushing, rapid heart rate, and reduced blood pressure because of a genetic incapacity to properly metabolizing alcohol. So-called “Asian Flush” is thought to be caused by the deficiency of enzymes called aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH).

Migraine. Red and white wines have been implicated in these headaches.

Sources: The Auckland Allergy Clinic and The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.

See: Scientist Discovers Big Clue in Wine Reactions

First published in Allergic Living magazine.
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© Copyright AGW Publishing Inc.

Reprinted from Allergic Living magazine, 2011

The baseball game hadn’t even started when Kishari Sing began to feel that something was seriously wrong. She knew that, like her father, she reacted badly to alcohol; even a small taste of Irish Cream in high school had made her wheeze. Still, in the parking lot outside the San Diego stadium, her college friends tried to convince Sing that she could build up a tolerance to alcohol, and specifically to their drink of choice – a cheap boxed rosé. She drank one glass and remembers little after that.

“It completely whacked me out. I was sick the entire time,” recounts Sing, now a marketing executive in Los Angeles with a well-known blog called The Food Allergy Queen.

“There’s a picture of me at the game, and there’s this row of fraternity guys cheering – but I’m all red and puffy and trying to sleep on someone’s shoulder. I was completely incapacitated.”

Fortunately, the reaction to the cheap vino didn’t progress any further – but it was serious enough to keep Sing away from wine for good. “It made me so ill,” she says. “So it really wasn’t worth it.”

Sing is not alone. In fact, roughly 8 percent of people worldwide suffer from allergic-type responses to wine, and even relatively small amounts of the age-old drink can lead to symptoms including redness, itching, swelling, runny nose, headaches and asthma flare-ups.

Some people have true allergic reactions to wine ingredients – in rare cases to the point of anaphylactic shock.

But a new study out of Denmark may be the first step in turning those avoiders into connoisseurs who can sip hardy cabernets and oaky chardonnays with impunity. Until now, sulfites – which are used as a preservative in many wines and also can occur naturally  – have borne the brunt of the blame for the allergy-related reactions.

Yet only a fraction of people who are sensitive to wine are sensitive to the common preservative. Yeast, tannins and grapes in the vintages are also known to set off allergy symptoms, while histamines and salicylates are linked to intolerance.

Next: A surprising new allergy culprit

DECORATING

1. Scented Candles
The thought of cinnamon or vanilla wafting through the house may appeal, but scented candles smell of big trouble for those with allergies or chemical sensitivities.

“People who have environmental allergies such as to pollen or pets develop very sensitive inflamed nasal tissue which is hyper-reactive,” explains Ottawa allergist Dr. Antony Ham Pong. “These tissues then react more strongly to scents, and act as if they are allergens and mimic an allergic reaction.”

Plus, consider whether soy-allergic guests will be visiting before you light up that soy wax candle. While most are made from hydrogenated oil, which won’t cause an inhalant reaction, your soy-allergic guest or her child may feel uncomfortable knowing that a soy product is wafting through the air.

Advice: Use unscented, beeswax candles or opt instead for trendy fairy light strings for table décor or wreaths.

2. Festive Spores
If you have environmental allergies, a pine or cedar dominating the living room can bring you to sneezes and tears (or worse). Allergists warn at this time of year about “Rudolph the Reindeer Syndrome,” literally a reaction to the Christmas tree.

“Allergic reactions can occur to any pollen from the pine cones, or to mold in the bark of the tree,” Dr. Ham Pong notes. He says the tree’s resin can also cause “either eczema from contact with the skin, or nasal symptoms due to the scent.”

Mold is the biggest issue – some studies suggest household mold counts can increase as much as 10 times with a cut tree in the home. But an artificial tree can also harbor mold if it was stored in a damp basement.

Advice: Reduce the allergen load of a fresh-cut tree with a good blow-out – either taking it home on the roof of your car or subjecting it to a leaf blower on your front lawn. This gets rid of pollen grains and some mold. If mold is an asthma trigger, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America additionally suggests wiping around the tree’s trunk with a solution of 1 part bleach to 20 parts of lukewarm water. Also, wear gloves when moving a tree or boughs to avoid contact with the sap.

Or: Opt instead for a nice faux tree. Just be sure to enclose it plastic post-season, and store it in a dry spot.

3. Up in Smoke
Watch out for a roaring wood fire when visiting. As Certified Asthma Educator Jo-Anne St. Vincent has explained in Allergic Living magazine, that can expose those with asthma or allergies to a variety of environmental triggers, including smoke and mold.

If visiting friends in a home with a trendy enclosed gas fireplace, that’s a safer bet. But even then don’t linger close by. Vincent says gas-burning fireplaces still emit nitrogen oxide, which can increase inflammation of the airways.

While manufactured fireplace logs used to be infamous for off-gassing toxic chemicals (since industrial waste was part of their composition), today these logs are much more environmentally friendly. There are still two problems though from an allergy/asthma perspective:

a) smoke, no matter how “green” still irritates sensitive airways.
b) Nut allergy concerns. Several brands make “crackling” fire logs, and they use walnut or other nut shells to achieve the sound while burning. It’s wise to avoid putting such proteins into the air around a nut-allergic individual.

Advice: Best of all is to ask close family to forego the fire in the living room, if that’s to be the main party room.

Next: Gift Giving, Food and Drink Tips

Allergen

Where It Hides

Alternate Names

• alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer and cider
• vinegar and wine vinegar
• wine
• baked goods with dried fruits
• bottled lemon/lime juices
• canned/frozen fruits, vegetables
• cereal, cornmeal, cornstarch, crackers
• condiments: horseradish, ketchup, mustard, pickles, relish and sauerkraut
• dehydrated potatoes, and frozen French fries
• dried fruits and vegetables, e.g. apricots, raisins, sweet potato
• dried herbs, spices
• deli meats, hot dogs and sausages
• dressings, sauces, soups
• fresh grapes
• fruit syrups, gelatin, jams, jellies, preserves, molasses and pectin
• fruit and vegetable juices
• starches, (e.g. corn starch, potato starch)
• sugar syrups: glucose, syrup dextrose, corn syrup, table syrup
• tomato pastes, purées
• fish, crustaceans and shellfish
• granola bars, especially with dried fruit
• Noodle and rice mixes
• Snack foods
• Soy products

• E 220, E 221, E 222, E 223, E 224, E 225, E 226, E 227, E 228 (European designations)
• potassium bisulphite or metabisulphite
• sodium bisulphite
• dithionite
• sulfite or sufites
• sulphur dioxide
• sulphiting agents
• sulphurous acid

Sources:
-ImmunoCAP
-Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Reading labels is a way of life when you or a member of your family has an allergy to sulphites, the food additive. Before eating anything in a package, be sure to read the label carefully. Look for hidden sources of sulphites and alternate names for it.

If you are ever uncertain about whether a food product is safe for you, call the manufacturer to confirm. When in doubt, don’t eat it.

In Canada, new regulations have been proposed that would require food manufacturers disclose if sulphites are present in a product at a level of 10 parts per million or higher.

More on Canada’s New Food Allergen Regulations.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act went into effect in 2006. FALCPA requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The new regulations also apply to food allergies, and require that allergens are declared in plain language, and are disclosed when they are components of other ingredients (i.e. mustard as a component of “spices.”

More on Canada’s Food Allergen Regulations

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect in 2006, requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The allergens included in this regulation are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat peanuts and soybeans. These regulations do not include sesame and mustard, unlike the proposed Canadian regulations.

Separate legislation requires companies to declare sulphites if they are present at more than 10 parts per million, or if they had a technical or functional effect in the food.

But the tenth name on the list may surprise: sulphites. These are the chemical additives used to stop food from browning or spoiling. In 1 per cent of the population, mostly those with asthma, even tiny amounts of sulphites can cause reactions. An estimated 4 per cent of asthmatics are sensitive to them.

In Canada, there have been reports of more than 100 sulphite-related reactions, ranging from nausea and abdominal pain to anaphylactic attacks. At least one Canadian has died.

Although sulphites are known to trigger symptoms in susceptible individuals that appear to be allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, scientists still don’t know how they do this. Unlike the other food groups on the list, sulphites are chemicals, not proteins.

Researchers don’t yet know whether sulphites cause the immune systems of some people to respond abnormally or whether they set off some other mechanism that causes allergic-like reactions. The researchers also haven’t figured out why sulphites pose a threat to some people and not to others.

One theory is that people sensitive to sulphites have a genetic abnormality that hinders the body’s breakdown of these chemicals. However, Dr. Susan Tarlo, a respiratory physician at Toronto’s University Health Network and a specialist in lung disease and allergic response, says her extensive research does not confirm that theory. Another theory links sulphite sensitivity to a lack of B12 vitamins, but that research is still riot conclusive.

If you develop hives or have trouble breathing after a restaurant dinner and a glass of wine and suspect you may have this sensitivity, the first step is to see an allergist and confirm what is causing your reaction.

The only way to be sure that it is a sulphite sensitivity is to undergo an oral challenge in a hospital setting. In such a test, doctors will give you a glass of juice with sulphites to see whether you respond. (For sulphites, Tarlo says a skin test is riot reliable enough.)

The food inspection agency has added sulphites to its top 10 allergens list because they cause allergic-like reactions in such a significant number of people. (One per cent of the Canadian population equates to about 320,000 individuals.) But there is no scientific evidence that the prevalence of sulphite sensitivity has actually increased over the past years.