Egg intolerance – everything you need to know at a glance

Although the consumption of eggs has long been controversial, eggs are now an integral part of the human diet. Eggs used to be considered harmful to the human organism and were held responsible for high cholesterol. In the meantime, however, some studies have shown that eating eggs is actually beneficial for health. Most people eat at least one chicken egg for breakfast. Eggs are an important component of most cooking and baking recipes. Eggs are also often found in packaged food.

People react differently to different foods. For some people, eating an egg therefore triggers z. B. Symptoms such as gas or diarrhea. So what if there is an egg intolerance? The indigestion of eggs is an allergy. However, because eggs are found in most foods, it is often difficult to identify them or to avoid chicken eggs.

What is egg intolerance?

In fact, the so-called egg allergy is the most common hypersensitivity in people. This affects not only groups of people in Europe, but all over the world. Babies and children up to the age of five are most affected. But egg indigestibility is not uncommon even in adulthood.

If one speaks of an egg allergy, however, what is meant is the indigestion against egg white. If a person is affected, the immune system reacts to various proteins contained in egg white.

Experts refer to substances that can trigger allergies in humans as allergens. In most cases, allergens are proteins. In the case of egg intolerance, the organism also reacts to the proteins contained in the hen’s egg. Possible allergens in the egg can be the following substances: ovomucoid, ovotransferin, ovalbumin and lysozyme.

Ovomucoid is a heat-resistant protein. It occurs in the protein. The allergen cannot be destroyed by the heat resistance. This means that even if the hen’s egg has been cooked or processed in other foods, the allergen will still persist. People who are allergic to ovomucoids can therefore not eat eggs even when they are cooked.

Most egg allergy sufferers, however, react to the other proteins contained in the chicken egg. These are destroyed during processing by heating and therefore only rarely cause complaints.

How is the egg white allergy expressed?

Most people experience typical symptoms such as a rash or gastrointestinal discomfort. The protein allergy arises in the body through the increased production of so-called IgE antibodies. Immunoglobil E (IgE) is an antibody that serves as a protective shield in the body. This is primarily intended to ward off parasites that try to penetrate the human organism.

If a person suffers from a protein allergy, the body produces too many antibodies. This leads to an extreme defense in the body. The defense then triggers classic reactions of indigestibility. At a intolerance the intestine processes the food ingested differently than in a healthy person.