I am allergic to shellfish which are oddly not even a type of fish.
they aren't. Then what the heck are they?
shellfish are low on the food chain and eat a diet composed primarily of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Many varieties of shellfish, and crustaceans in particular, are actually closely related to insects and arachnids; crustaceans make up one of the main subphyla of the phylum Arthropoda. Molluscs include cephalopods (squids, octopuses, cuttlefish) and bivalves (clams, oysters), as well as gastropods (aquatic species such as whelks and winkles; land species such as snails and slugs).
Molluscs used as a food source by humans include
and the proteins are commonly found in other ingredients. They account for about 90% of food allergies. The main eight are:
- Milk - "A milk allergy is different from lactose intolerance in that the reaction is caused typically by casein, a protein found in milk."
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustacean shellfish
- Tree nuts
- Peanuts - "Not everyone who is allergic to peanuts is also allergic to tree nuts, or vice versa, as peanuts are actually a legume."