Tingly mouth after a marzipan treat, or hives after switching to almond milk? Almond is now in milks, flours, protein bars and skincare, so it is easy to meet it every day without noticing. Our test checks your blood for IgE antibodies to whole almond and to its main storage protein, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, so you can see whether you are sensitised to almond.
Almond is a stone fruit seed, in the same plant genus as peach, cherry and apricot. Its main storage protein is called amandin, or Pru du 6 on a lab report. Storage proteins are heat-stable, and recent research points to Pru du 6 as a key marker for real almond allergy.
Almond also contains smaller amounts of other protein types found across plant foods, including a lipid transfer protein (LTP) similar to peach's and a birch-like PR-10 protein. These can explain why some people show IgE to almond through peach or pollen sensitisation rather than almond itself.
People describe itching or tingling in the mouth and throat, swollen lips, hives, stomach cramps or vomiting, usually soon after eating almond. Some report wheezing or feeling faint.
Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or feeling faint after eating is an emergency. Call 112 (EU) or your local emergency number. Do not wait for a test.
IgE to almond is fairly common in people who are sensitised to peanut, other tree nuts, peach or birch pollen, and many of them eat almond without trouble.
So a positive result shows sensitisation, not that you will react. If you have never reacted to almond, do not cut it out on a result alone. If you have, take the result to a doctor or allergist, who can read the almond values next to peach, the other nuts and pollens on the same report.
The lab measures IgE to a whole almond extract and to one single almond protein (molecular component). Your lab report gives each a measured value and class, from Negative to Very high. Treat them as a pattern to discuss with your doctor, not a diet plan.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
Almond milk is made from almonds and contains almond protein, even if the amount is small. If you have reacted to almond before, ask your doctor or allergist before drinking it.
Often, yes. Almond and peach are close relatives and share a similar lipid transfer protein. People sensitised to peach LTP frequently show IgE to almond. The test checks both in the same sample.
Yes. Marzipan is mostly ground almonds and sugar. Persipan, its cheaper cousin, is made from apricot or peach kernels instead, which are close relatives of almond.
It shows IgE to amandin, almond's main storage protein. Research points to it as a useful marker for real almond allergy, as opposed to sensitisation picked up through peach or pollen. A doctor reads it together with your history.
