If you experience joint pain every time you eat pasta, you need to talk with your doctor about allergy testing. Most people don't think of joint pain as a symptom of a food allergy, but the Center for Food Allergies states that food allergies can cause inflammation in your joints, leading to pain. Your doctor will help you determine which ingredients in pasta may be triggering your joint pain. You need to discuss all reactions you develop with your doctor. Keep a food journal to determine if there is a trend in what you eat and joint pain.
Pasta Allergens
Pasta contains a number of ingredients, but most pasta contains foods that are allergenic to some people. The most common allergenic ingredients in pasta are wheat, soy, eggs and dairy. If you eat pasta with sauce, the sauce may contain shellfish, tomatoes and dairy. If you are allergic to one or more of the ingredients in pasta, you will develop symptoms any time you eat that specific ingredient. For example, if you're allergic to wheat in pasta, you will develop similar symptoms when you eat bread, crackers or baked goods.
Joint Pain
When you ingest an ingredient you're allergic to, your immune system releases various chemicals to fight off the allergen. Immunoglobulin E antibodies, histamine and other chemicals are released into your blood, causing inflammation and swelling in soft tissue. The connective tissue in your joints can become swollen, placing pressure on the joint, resulting in pain. The Center for Food Allergies states that some proteins in certain foods can take up to a day to absorb into the body, delaying the development of joint pain.
Testing
Because pasta contains so many possible allergens, your doctor will recommend allergy testing. Allergy testing takes a small amount of the potential allergen and introduces it into your body in a controlled environment. IgE antibodies are only created by the body during an allergic reaction. If the allergist notices the creation or the result of IgE antibody production, you will be diagnosed with a specific food allergy. Two common tests are a blood test and skin prick test. An allergen is inserted into a sample of your blood to see if your blood creates IgE antibodies. Skin prick tests inject an allergen under the skin to see if your skin becomes inflamed.
Treatment
Once diagnosed with a specific food allergy, you will need to avoid any food that contains that allergen. For example, if diagnosed with a wheat allergy, you will have to eliminate pasta, baked goods and anything that contains wheat proteins.
