Food allergies affect more people today than they did 50 years ago. Although our food standards have increased in general our bodies don’t seem to be as robust as they were in the past. Allergy related illnesses like asthma have shown steady increases year on year.There are many different food allergies but here are the 7 most frequently diagnosed food allergies found in the U.S. today:1. Wheat Allergy – Wheat plays a major role in many of our diets, forming the basis of some breakfast cereals, pasta and bread and you will also find it such food products as soups and snack bars. As an ingredient it has a wide variety of uses which can make avoiding it quite difficult at first if you are wheat-intolerant but doing a little research and knowing what to look out for on product labels can make life a lot easier.2. Peanut Allergy – Peanuts have a bad reputation when it comes to allergies and it’s easy to see why. Allergic reactions to peanuts or peanut-related products can be severe and possibly even fatal if not dealt with in time. Even small traces of peanut can can cause a reaction in some people and like other foods listed here peanuts can find their way into a wide variety of everyday products – cookies, candy bars, and peanut butter are more obvious ones but you can also find it certain pastries and even ice cream.3. Milk Allergy – This is the most common of all the food allergies and it usually manifests itself early on in a person’s life. The reason for this is that children drink more milk at an early stage than adults. Although having a milk allergy can have a quite severe reaction most people grow out of it as they progress into adulthood.4. Egg Allergy – Eggs also contain allergens that can be quite severe and are also difficult to avoid at the supermarket. Both the egg white and the egg yolk can cause an allergic reaction.5. Shellfish Allergy – Shellfish allergies are more common in adults than in children. Approximately 2% of adults develop an allergic reaction to shellfish and it usually occurs in early adulthood.6. Soybean Allergy – Being a member of the legume family soybeans and peanuts are closely related. In the 1950s and 60s soy was thought to be safer than milk in baby food products as milk allergies started coming to the fore. And because it’s high in protein soy is found as an ingredient in many household food products today.7. Tree Nut Allergy – Although nuts like pistachios, Brazil nuts, pines and almonds all come from trees and peanuts come from the ground there seems to be a link there as a large portion of people who are allergic to peanuts are also allergic to tree nuts. It’s advisable that if a person has an allergic reaction to either type that they should avoid nuts altogether.