Not everyone is fond of vegetables, and some even totally avoid them. But they are usually not clinically diagnosed with any medical conditions that explain their aversion to vegetables.
MailOnline reported that doctors in the US had found one man with an allergy to vegetables. The 36-year-old American man would have a red itchy rash all over his body and feel seriously ill within five hours of eating pickled vegetables, tomato, and eggplant, with symptoms that repeat every three to six weeks.
First Known Man With Allergic Reaction to Vegetables
The man's case was chronicled in a report titled "The Missing Link: A Case of Severe Adverse Reaction to Histamine in Food and Beverages," published in the American Journal of Case Reports, in which doctors wrote that he has been suffering from his condition for 17 years before finally being diagnosed with severe histamine allergy and given a personalized eating plan.
Doctors say the man is the first known patient who consistently suffers a severe allergic reaction after eating certain foods. Aside from vegetables, he is also allergic to pizza, seafood, cheese, wine, and some meats.
MailOnline reported that his symptoms include nausea, extreme tiredness, fever, lack of appetite, and vomiting. He would also get a red rash that covers his neck, chest, inner arms, and thighs. His rashes usually fade after 24 to 36 hours. He would also feel sore throat, stomach cramps, and diarrhea alongside the rash.
His symptoms' third and longest phase include a runny nose, another sore throat, cough, headaches for two weeks, heartburn, muscle twitching, sneezing, sleepiness, and smelling smoke after eating.
The man has no underlying health conditions or allergies, but the typical meal that provokes his allergic reaction is a fish soup with wine. Doctors gave him tablets with increasing histamine to manage his symptoms. Now, he eats a low-histamine diet to keep himself symptom-free. He also has four siblings in which, three of them also suffer from the same condition and experience similar symptoms.
READ ALSO : Do You Have An Adult Onset Allergy? Here's Why
Food Allergies: Are There Really People Allergic to Vegetables?
According to Mayo Clinic, food allergy is an immune system response after eating a certain food. The immune system mistakenly identifies that specific food as something harmful and triggers cells to release antibodies to neutralize the allergy-causing food.
Even a small amount of that food could trigger symptoms, like digestive problems, hives, or swollen airways, that could become a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis.
The majority of food allergies are triggered by certain proteins, such as crustacean shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, chicken eggs, cow's milk, wheat, and soy. That is why the American man's case is somehow unique because he is allergic to vegetables.
Per News-Times UK, histamine is an immune chemical linked to allergies made in the body but may also be found in common foods, like yogurt and tomatoes. Most vegetables have low histamine, although spinach, eggplant, and fermented vegetables are especially rich in histamine.
Unfortunately, about 1% of people are intolerant of histamine and develop too much of it. When histamine levels are too high, the body cannot break them down, which affects the body's healthy functioning.
In the man's case, doctors said that the underlying cause of the recurring symptoms within a cycle is unknown. Per the Sydney Children's Hospital Network, about 3% of teenagers have fruit or vegetable allergy.
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