Allergy Season Part 2
What the Heck is Oral Allergy Syndrome?
In last week's blog, I shared how what you eat can affect your seasonal allergy symptoms -- with processed, inflammatory foods making things worse, and nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods helping to calm your immune system.
This week, let’s flip the script and look at whether your seasonal allergies are getting in the way of your ability to enjoy certain foods, even healthy ones.
It turns out, some people with pollen allergies also experience what’s called Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS).
Oral Allergy What Now?
If you’ve ever eaten a kiwi or a cucumber and felt a weird tingle on your lips, tongue, or throat, you weren’t imagining it. You might have been experiencing Oral Allergy Syndrome.
In OAS, your immune system gets confused by proteins in certain raw foods that are similar to pollen proteins. Since the structures are similar, your body reacts as if it’s being exposed to pollen—even though it’s just food.
That reaction might look like:
Itchy lips, tongue, or throat
Tingling in your mouth
A scratchy feeling in your cheeks or ears
These symptoms usually happen immediately after eating and often go away within 30 minutes. The good news? OAS reactions are typically mild and not dangerous, unlike true food allergies.
What Triggers OAS?
Also called Pollen-Food Allergy Syndrome, OAS happens most often in people with grass, birch, or ragweed allergies. The foods that cause a reaction are typically raw fruits, raw veggies, and tree nuts, and they tend to correspond to the type of pollen a person is sensitive to.
Here’s a quick breakdown of common culprits…
Allergic to ragweed? You might find yourself reacting to bananas, melon, cucumber, or zucchini.
Sensitive to grass pollen? Dates, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, or peanuts could cause trouble.
Is birch pollen your nemesis? The list of potential trouble makers here is long, and includes almonds, apples, apricots, beans, carrots, celery, cherries, kiwi, peaches, plums, strawberries, or sunflower seeds.
Not everyone with pollen allergies will experience OAS. And, not everyone with OAS will react to all the trigger foods. It's a very individual thing.
But, Can I Still Eat Those Foods?
Sometimes! Many people with OAS find that cooking the food or peeling the skin makes a big difference. That’s because heat and food prep methods can change the protein structure so your immune system doesn’t react to them the same way:
You might react to a raw apple—but be fine with applesauce.
Tomatoes might bother you—unless they’re in a cooked sauce.
Carrots might be itchy raw—but totally fine in a soup.
It’s important to remember that OAS reactions are NOT the same as a full-blown food allergy, which can be much more serious.
Food Allergies – Nothing to Sneeze At
I'll say it again: OAS is not the same thing as a classic food allergy.
True food allergies (to things like peanuts, shellfish, wheat, dairy, soy, or eggs) can trigger serious or life-threatening reactions like anaphylaxis. And, unlike with OAS, you can't “cook away” a real food allergy.
If you’ve ever had a reaction to food—even a mild one—it’s essential to:
Never self-diagnose!
Take it seriously and not assume it’s “just” OAS
Talk to your doctor or allergist
Test, don’t guess!
Need help figuring out which foods are actually working for your body—and which ones aren’t?
That’s kind of my superpower.
Whether you're dealing with spring allergies and OAS or something else entirely, holistic nutrition can be your answer. Book your FREE SESSION today and let’s chat!
