ARIANA Grande has had to cancel two shows on her tour of the States due to an apparent tomato allergy – which she suddenly developed.

The 25-year-old Dangerous Woman singer broke the news to fans that she'd had an "unfortunate allergic reaction to tomatoes" this week.

She said on Instagram: "My throat pretty much closed…still feels like I'm swallowing a cactus but slowly making progress."

She then went onto joke that there's "nothing more unfair than an Italian woman developing an allergy to tomatoes in her mid-twenties".

But Ariana, who has had to postpone the Tampa and Orlando shows on her Sweetener tour, isn't alone is suddenly developing food allergies in adulthood.

According to a study published back in January, nearly half of all adults who have food allergies got them later in life.

And nearly 40 per cent of those adult-onset cases had such a severe reaction that they ended up in A&E.

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Tomato allergies

According to leading food intolerance lab, York Test, tomato allergies aren't very common.

However, they also say that signs and symptoms can take up 72 hours to show up after eating the juicy fruit.

"With such a slow onset time, reactions to tomato can easily be dismissed or attributed to other factors," their website says.

They also say that there's a difference between a tomato intolerance and a tomato allergy.

An allergy tends to kick in quickly, while tomato intolerance can take hours or days to become apparent.

Some allergies are so severe that people can't even touch a tomato – or any other member of the nightshade plant family including potatoes, peppers and aubergines.

Tomato intolerances, however, generally aren't as serious and, York Test says, aren't always a lifelong problem.

Symptoms of a tomato allergy

The severity and frequency of reactions can vary from person to person.

Symptoms can include:

• Stomach bloating
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhoea
• Skin rash/eczema
• Tingling lips
• Itching sensation in the throat
• Aches and pains
• Tiredness

If you find yourself exhibiting any of these symptoms immediately after eating tomatoes, you may have a tomato allergy or be reacting to substances in or on the tomatoes.

If you have any of these symptoms up to a few days after eating tomatoes, a tomato intolerance is more probable.

Source: York Test

Why do adults get food allergies?

Often with fruit and veg allergies, it's down to pollen.

The body mistakes proteins in certain foods for pollen and starts to attack them.

No one really knows yet how it is you can go through childhood without allergies than pick them up seemingly randomly later in life.

Theories have included changes in the environment, diets, hormones, antibiotic usage and possible virus or bacterial illnesses could change peoples' immune systems.

Always get tested

Although tomato allergies aren't as common as say, nuts or shellfish, reactions can still range from hives to medical emergencies.

And that's why it absolutely essential that if you have an allergic reaction to something, you then get it tested by an allergist.

While certain foods may spark sudden reactions like a swelling of the mouth, lips or tongue, some allergies can cause severe symptoms including a drop in blood pressure, breathing difficulties and vomiting – and they can be fatal.

MORE ON ALLERGIES

Tomatoes aren't the only issue for Ariana, either.

Back in 2011, she discovered that she was allergic to bananas, tweeting at the time: "I just discovered that I'm allergic to bananas. How bizarre is that?? Haha…Are any of you allergic to bananas too? #NoBananaClub."

She's also allergic to cats and shellfish.

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