Meat allergy has always been considered extremely rare. It turns out that meat could a much more common trigger for anaphylaxis than was previously thought. In fact, a study of 60 people with unexplained severe allergic symptoms shows that meat allergy may be behind these reactions.

Meat contains a substance called alpha-galactose. Almost 40 per cent of the subjects in the study had IgE antibodies to this sugar found in meat. While alpha-galactose is common to many mammals, it is not common in either humans or great apes: researchers have found that humans can produce an antibody against it, which is what triggers the meat allergy.

The trick with this kind of reaction is that it tends to be delayed by several hours from when the meat is actually eaten. This is what makes meat allergy harder to diagnose.

Source: Reuters