Reactions to Foods and Their Timing

This table shows allergic reaction symptoms and their timing along with the most common offending foods.  If you are doing a food re-introduction, refer to this chart if any symptoms appear between 30 minutes and 96 hours (4 days) after eating a food, as the food may be the cause.  Of course, there may be other causes, such as exposure to chemicals, seasonal allergens, or infections that may cause the same symptoms, and reactions can vary among individuals.  Therefore, this table is only meant to be a guide.

	30 min	60 min	2 hrs	3 hrs	6 hrs	12 hrs	24 hrs	36 hrs	48 hrs	72 hrs	96 hrs
Heartburn	***	****	***	***	*		Coffee, wine, tomato, citrus, beer, banana, apple
Runny nose	*	****	***	**	**	*	Milk, cheese, wheat, corn, MSG, wine, beer, chocolate
Abdominal cramps	**	***	***	***	****	***	*	Milk, cheese, gluten, nuts, apples, coffee, pork
Headaches	*	**	***	****	***	**	Coffee, soda, chocolate, nuts, MSG, simple sugars, tyramine foods
Fatigue	***	**	*	**	***	****	****	Simple sugars, milk, cheese, chocolate, wheat
Gallbladder	*	***	****	***	***		Eggs, milk, onion, chicken, beef
Itching	*	***	*				Fish, shrimp, eggs, peanut, chocolate
Delayed itching	Egg, soy, corn				***	****	****
Migraine		**	*		***	****	***	Chocolate, coffee, soy, corn, soda, MSG
Bedwetting				*	***	**	*	Simple sugars, soda, milk, corn, eggs, wheat
Edema					*	**	****	**	*	Milk, dairy
Seizures					*	**	****	**	*
Diarrhea	*	**	**	**	**	***	****	***	Chocolate, eggs, dairy, wheat
Mental confusion	*	**			*	**	****	**	*
Muscle cramps						*	**	***	***	****	*
Aphthous ulcers	Gluten, citrus, sugars, apples, chocolate					*	**	***	***	****	***
Joint pains	Wheat, coffee, meat, many foods					*	**	***	****	*
Gout	meat				*	*	**	***	***	***

The number of “*” indicates the frequency with which symptoms may appear after eating the indicated food.

From Medical Nutrition from Marz, by Russel Marz. 2^nd edition, 1997.