Help I Am Allergic To Banana

If you have an Banana Allergy then you suffer from allergies Type 1 or contact allergy.  The protein found in banana called chitinase, causes the immune system in some individuals to overreact and treat the protein as harmful to your body.  The reason the body overacts to certain foods is not clear and more studies are needed.  The protein called chitinase is also found in avocado and kiwi fruit.

Bananas originated in Malaysia around 2,000 B.C. and then spread throughout the Philippines and India.  Alexander the Great recorded them being grown in India in 327 B.C.  Today bananas are grown in most tropical and subtropical regions around the world with the main commercial producers located in Central America.  With the development of rapid transportation bananas have become widely available.

To be allergic to banana you body's immune system must be overacting to the banana protein chitinase.  Another cause of the allergy reaction could be due to intolerance to bananas and not a true allergy reaction.  This intolerance could be caused by Vaso-active amines.

Vaso-active amines are histamine like substances that occur naturally in foods and can trigger symptoms that can mimic allergy reactions.  Vaso-active amines are called histamine, phenyl-ethylamine, serotonin, tyramine and dopamine.

Serotonin is found in banana, and the symptom of serotonine ingestion include cramping, flushing of the skin, headache, and heart palpitations.  The severity of the symptoms is dependent on the amount the histamine like substance ingested and the lack of the histamine metabolizing enzyme diamine oxidase in your system.

Most food allergy or food intolerance reactions usually happen within a few minutes to a few hours after eating the bananas.  Most mild to moderate reactions last less than a day and can involve a rash on the skin, cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, runny nose, watery eyes, wheezing and coughing.

For individually that are allergic to banana symptoms may not appear or the symptoms may be to mild to be noticed the first few times bananas are eaten.  Sensitivity can develop over time and can start out very mild and slowly develop into life-threatening allergic reactions.

A cross-reaction is also a very common problem in individuals who are allergic to banana.  If a person suffers from an allergic reaction to the protein in bananas a possibility to being allergic to the same proteins in latex is very high.  Other foods to watch out for cross-reaction with a Banana Allergy are avocado, kiwi and chestnut.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.

David Cowley has created numerous articles on allergies.  He has also created a Web Site dedicated to allergies and how to treat them. Click on http://www.allergies-team.com

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Comments on this article:

» left by K. Pratt from Zanesville, Ohioq (334 days 12 hours ago.)

I am so happy to have found this site--I have eaten bananas my entire life and just about 2 years ago I had banana pudding at a restaurant and 15 minutes later, I was writhing in pain and vomiting non stop. I thought it was food poisoning. About a week later, I ate my usual breakfast of a banana and toast and within 15 minutes I was in such severe abdominal pain that my partner took me to the ER where it lasted for almost an hour, increasing in intensity. They finally deduced that it was indeed the banana. I can eat it cooked, like another person posted, but I'm too afraid to try it raw again. I am PRAYING that it doesn't develop into an avocado allergy, because I really love guacamole..lol Another fruit I've been told can develop into an allergy is peaches. If this happens, I'm going to be so sad..they're my favorite fruit.

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» left by Betsy (185 days 11 hours ago.)

oh my goodness!! The gripping pain in my abdominal and back area and nauseation has just about subsided. I went online to look for a clinic that was still open and cry out to a doctor and demand what is wrong with my body!! I had banana cream pie tonight. I've always loved banana pie - but I hope I never eat it again!! For about three years I've been trying to figure out what is wrong with me and no doctor could tell me. About a year ago I figured it was banana. I've been developing new allergies right and left. And your peach comment,.. unfortunately, I am allergic to peaches now too... actually just the seed. I think it is part of the nut family, of which I have always been highly allergic to! Some of the other things I have developed an allergy to is, Eggs (only when they are scrambled and not baked into something) Chai Tea, bing cherries, pinnaple... I'm sure there are more but, my chest and back are feeling much better and I think I can sleep now for work in the early morning! I would usually go back and edit this for grammar and choice of words, but I'm too excited and exhausted to.  Hope you are doing well!
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» left by mochajunkie from Pittsburgh (227 days 2 hours ago.)

I have the same problem with bananas as well as kiwi. I can (an do!) eat avacado all the time with no problems, although I've noticed that raspberries will give me the same pains as a banana does.

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» left by Dymphna from Herts, UK (169 days 7 hours ago.)

At 43, having never suffered an allergic reaction before, I chose the healthy option when I needed a snack whilst driving home from a meeting. A banana! Within around ten minutes I began to itch under my arms, up my arms, around my hairline, then I felt the left side of my mouth swelling.. I was panicking like mad.. as I was scratching the pain was worsening, and where I scratched lumps developed. My eyes were red an swollen...my neck was swollen, I was not a pretty picture. Luckily my right side was not affected as acutely so I could still breath. I got to the hospital and was given steroids and piriton. Two days later and my glands under my left arm still ache, but the swelling has gone down. I cannot believe how severe the reaction was having never experienced the like before. Reading everyones comments has made me feel a little less alone. Thank you.

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» left by bananas 4 banana. from Caribbean (156 days 14 hours ago.)

I am 32 yrs old., i have 2 children, i live in the caribbean. a yr ago i ate a bag of banana chips within 2mins my lips started stinging and burning me. i rushed to the mirror to my horror my lips were very largely swollen and growing even bigger by the seconds. i noticed that the sewlling was continuing into my mouth onto my tongue and along the insides of my cheeks, and down to my throat. within 5 mins i was beginning to cough. i figured it must of been an allergic reaction to the banana chips.,i had never experienced an allergic reaction to bananas before. i have eaten bananas all my life. it never bothered me. in fact banana was my absolute FAVOURITE fruit! doesnt that suck? man! with that frightening experience i took 3tsps of claritin syrup along with 1 allergra180mg tablet, and the swelling only stopped and didnt start to decrease until the next day. it took a week for the swelling to go completely. anyway i tried eating the banana fruit some months later just to see if i was really allergic to it.., and low and behold the itching of the lips started again. so i rushed to take 1 allergra180mg tablet & the reaction stopped immediately. so i have been using the allegra tablets with success in helping me with any oopsseey i come across with banana allergies. (such as a slice of pinapple stuck to the topside of a blended fruit punch glass, and green banana in soups, plantain chips) i hope to out grow this thing one day, but trust me i will not be using myself as a lab rat. anyway i do have asthma as well, so i read it might be a pollen allergy. birch pollen allergy to be exact. well, life goes on.....with bananas! :}

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» left by Journey from Houston (153 days 6 hours ago.)

I'm 29 with a banana allergy. I was avle to eat them as a child but 3 years ago I discovered the pain I would get was 15-20 mins was after eating a banana. I became extremely ill. I suffered from severe stomach cramping, nausea, diarreha, vomiting. I will never touch another banana and I have also developed an intolerance to cucumbers it's so strange. I'm so glad to research and learn that others have the same problem. I thought I was crazy.

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» left by Hugo from Davis (150 days 15 hours ago.)

I am 22 and glad I am not the only one who is allergic to banana (isn't that weird?). I asked my doctor about it and he gave me that look of "are you sure?". After reading all the previous posts, I am sure I experienced the same type of pain from what I have heard. Fortunately, so far, banana is the only food my body is intolerance to. I thought this banana thing will go away but it does not. I gave banana another try and this time it took a little longer until I feel the pain.

 

I really want to know the cause of this problem so found some similarity from other posters. As I recall, one poster mentioned about some allergy medicine. I have been eating bananas all my life. In fact, a banana a day before I had the reaction to my body. At the time, I was taking "Suedefed" (allergy medicine). So I don't know if that was a trigger to the problem. Another possibility is that I was eating much healthier at that time period(the period of being non-allergic to allergic to banana). I ate less carbohydrates, did way more exercise, ate many fruits and vegetables. I am a male so pregnancy wasn't a one.

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» left by Anonymous (101 days 14 hours ago.)

I too developed an an intolerance to avacados after the birth of my second child. Bananas, kiwis, and rasberries also bother me.

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» left by Jen from ND (100 days 14 hours ago.)

I'm glad I found this!

 

I ate bananas all my life, and around the time I turned double-digits, I noticed I'd get a stomach ache every time I ate a banana.

 

Fast-forward to my first pregnancy. I always ate a snack at my work desk, and one day I brought a kiwi. I'd eaten kiwi all my life with no problems. I started to feel not good, so I left work. While on the highway home, I got the worst backache of my life, a bad stomach ache like when I eat a banana, and couldn't stop salivating. I called the nurse hotline, and they wanted me to go to the hospital. I went home instead (stupid!) but I could feel the allergic reaction subsiding. I was fine, baby was fine.

 

Not long after my first was born, I noticed every Friday afternoon I'd get a stomach ache. We went out to eat Friday noons, and I always ordered the same salad. I really wanted to know WHAT on that salad was giving me stomach aches, so I looked through the ingredient list to see what I didn't normally eat. I came up with avocado and bacon. The next time we went, I ordered it without those ingredients: no more stomach aches.

 

So I no longer consume avocado, kiwi or bananas, I avoid latex whenever possible, in case it's that. I won't eat chestnuts either, since they can be related.

 

I just now ate half a slice of banana bread, with a Benadryl chaser just in case. I know some people aren't bothered by cooked bananas, so here's hoping I don't spend the rest of the evening in pain! It just smelled way too good not to have some!

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» left by Anonymous (56 days 2 hours ago.)

I too have this problem which started in my early twenties. I am now 25 and fall over in stomach pains when I eat anything that has raw bananas in it. I have eaten bananas my entire life with no problems and about two years ago I started getting these pains which came on about 20 minutes after ingesting a banana. I make banana bread, muffins and pancakes all the time with no problems!!

 

I also just started eating avacados and mangos, WHICH I LOVE, until I was tortured with stomach pains! I dont beleive I have any latex allergies, I've worn gloves before, can blow up balloons and no problems.....

 

It's reassuring to find out I'm not the only one with this problem!!

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» left by Lynda from Nelson New Zealand (35 days 9 hours ago.)

I found all these comments and this article really useful, I have always wondered why I feel so sick and get the most painful stomach cramps after eating bananas. I used to love eating  bananas but I was getting to the stage where If I knew I was going somewhere or even to to work it was useless me trying to eat a banana as I would always end up feeling absolutely awful getting stomach cramps nausea bloating and just generally feeling sick more or less straight after eating the banana. I even wondered if it had something to do with my gall bladder , which I am having removed shortly. I too have allergies and this is obviously another which has developed. I have an auto immune disease which Im monitored each year by a hospital specialist. Other than that Im healthy not on medication yet but will now be sticking  away from bananas as my reactions seem to be getting worse.
so much for trying to be healthy, I think Ill stick to chocolate.

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» left by Peter from Australia (33 days 9 hours ago.)

This article was very helpful. I like many others have eaten bananas my whole life when I was about 21 I discovered that I could no longer stomach eating bananas on an empty stomach because I would get severe stomach pains. I am now 29 and in most cases when I consume bananas I begin having stomach pains within the hour. One night after home made banana splits it was too much and I had to vomit. I now realise given the information above and the comments made that I have an allergy to bananas. I'm happy to see that other people have it as well. Thank you David Cowley.

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» left by april from crimora, va (28 days 1 hour ago.)

I just had this happen to me yesterday and today. I was eating a banana and felt the urge to vomit, I was fine once I got the banana out of my system. I have been eating bananas all my life. Well I thought it was the flu until it happened to me again today, so I am assuming after reading this that I have developed a banana allergy. so much for trying to eat healthy lol

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» left by Marisa from MI (15 days 1 hour ago.)

OMG! At age 22 I ate a banana at work and instantly began vomiting uncontollably. It's crazy, even the smallest amount of banana turns into the worst flu symptoms ever.

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» left by Ali from California, USA (13 hours ago.)

   New Comment!   

I am so relieved to have read this. I've eaten a banana almost every day for like 7 years. About a month ago, I began getting violent stomach cramps and nausea about an hour after eating one. I stopped eating them, but forgot about it yesterday and ate a handful of freeze dried bananas. Severe pain and my tongue tingled and burned. Today I decided to try a new snack: kiwi. I've eaten them before, and never had a problem. But about 45 minutes later, horrible pain. Really awful. Sounds like this isn't an unheard of problem, but I might try to get into an allergist to get tested for both those fruits and latex, just in case.

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