Allergic reactions to strawberries can take various forms from easy ones to very serious.


As many of you know strawberries are very useful and contain a big amount of antioxidant, anticancer, anti-neurodegenerative, and anti-inflammatory properties, making them very useful as a natural alternative to western medicine

But do these aroma therapy berries have any side effects, any risks?
Many of you already know the answer to this question. Yes, you may develop an allergy and the symptoms can be easy to bear or sometimes can easily pass and you’ll never notice or make a connection with strawberries. Sometimes eating strawberries can give more severe reactions.

The body identifies a food protein in strawberries as a pathogen, and the immune system “attacks” the protein by releasing antibodies. In the case of strawberries, the protein that triggers the allergic reaction may be tied somehow to strawberries’ red colour.

Allergy to strawberries is characterized by a complex of symptoms in the mouth, known as OAS, or Oral Allergy Syndromes. This complex of symptoms typically consists of allergic reactions to the throat and mouth, such as itching, swelling and paresthesia to the oral cavity (including gums, tongue, palate, inside of the cheeks) as well as lips. Urticaria, a common symptom in Oral Allergy Syndrome. Other allergic reactions include lacrimation, swelling and reddening, runny nose, inability to breathe through nose, itching and sneezing. In rare cases some subjects may develop more severe reactions such as urticaria, dermatitis and itching, asthma, rhinitis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and cramps.

According to a research people allergic to strawberries can develop other food allergies such as kiwi or pineapples allergy but it’s not a rule and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to develop another kind of allergy since you have allergy to strawberries. In very rare cases it could end with anaphylactic reactions and asphyxia. What is the solution to this problem? The best treatment is prevention. If you know you have some allergic reactions to strawberries avoid eating any form of strawberries, including raw berries, jam and naturally-flavoured products.
Remember also that cooking strawberries does NOT reduce or remove allergic reactions!

Biochemists at Lund University in Sweden, for those suffering from strawberry allergies, proved that they may eat the white strawberry variety called Sofar because it has few to no quantities of the suspected allergen. White strawberries can be considered a safer alternative for those suffering from this kind of allergies. Of course the white variety is not as tasteful as the red one but scientists at Lund University are working on this and maybe soon people with allergy at strawberries will eat these berries without being afraid of any allergic symptom.

Until that happens if you suspect some allergic reactions to strawberries try to avoid any form of them and if the contact occurs, notify your physician immediately.


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