Hereditary Food Allergies?

[Guest Recluse]

So, I'd like to start this with a brief disclaimer: I am only citing my own experience here, and am interested in the consensus.

Background: My grandmother was the first one in my family to display food allergies. They all became very severe at once, but she'd had digestive trouble for years. Wheat, dairy, beef, gelatin, pork, sheep, goat, goat milk, and citrus. She went from having minor digestive trouble to suddenly breaking out in hives, having trouble breathing, increased heart rate, etc. This was in the late eighties. Her youngest son has severe allergies to dairy and citrus. All three of her daughters are sensitive to dairy, citrus, and wheat, my mother among them. We, the third generation, seem to have inherited these allergies as well. My cousins are both dairy, wheat, and beef sensitive (as well as autistic, not that it matters I don't think), my younger brother has 'digestive trouble' that he won't have tested, and I seem to have received the entire compliment of allergies from my grandmother along with tree nuts, peanuts, pitted fruits, banana, avocado, potato, tomato, onion, garlic, celery, carrot and shellfish - all of which happened very suddenly. I went from having a normal diet of literally everything (I love food, seriously) to being unable to eat any of these things in the space of a year.

My allergist and primary care physician both insist that food allergies are not inherited.

Considering my family history, how can that be true?

[notfred]

My father was violently allergic to shrimp and so am I. I think this allergy may have included my grandfather, too.

nf