Are Food Allergies On The Rise

Feeding Babies Foods With Peanuts Appears To Prevent Allergies

The parent may suspect a food allergy. But, perhaps, these are signs of lactose intolerance a completely different condition.

“The reason food allergy symptoms are often confused with other such as lactose intolerance is because there’s an overlap in some of the symptoms,” Stallings explains.

An allergy is an immune response to a food or other substance that is normally harmless. Common symptoms include hives and swelling or GI distress. Food allergies can be life threatening. Lactose intolerance, on the other hand, means a person can’t easily digest the natural sugar found in milk. And, as the American Academy of Pediatrics points out in this FAQ on the topic, “while lactose intolerance can cause a great deal of discomfort, it will not produce a life-threatening reaction such as anaphylaxis.”

Adding to the confusion, food allergies can be complicated to diagnose.

“We do not have an optimal diagnostic tool. There isn’t one skin test or blood test” that can accurately determine whether a person has an allergy to a specific food, says Stallings.

Stallings says if parents recognize clear signs of allergic reactions, such as swelling lips or difficulty breathing, they should seek emergency care.

But, often times, the symptoms are milder. In these cases, rather than self-diagnosing an allergy, families should see an expert, such as a pediatric allergist. The National Academies of Sciences “committee really does recommend that people seek more expert advice,” Stallings says.

My Son Lives On Pb&j Sandwiches And Takes One To School Practically Every Day So I Am Not Sure What We Would Do If His School Became A Peanut

My son lives on PB&J sandwiches and takes one to school practically every day, so I am not sure what we would do if his school became a peanut-free school.

However, as a parent and emergency physician, I see and hear about more children with some type of food allergy. When I was younger and in school myself, I cant recall one of my classmates having a serious and potentially deadly peanut allergy. Therefore, it begs that we ask some questions: Are food allergies on the rise? Or are we just hearing about them more frequently? Since May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness month, I felt this would be a good time to address these questions.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network states that food allergies affect about 3% of the general population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , about 15 million people have food allergies, accounting for over 300,000 visits to doctors in offices and ERs around the country.

Allergies, in general, are an overreaction of our immune system. With food allergies, our immune system mistakes food proteins as a foreign invading germs, causing hives, rash, even trouble breathing and potentially deadly low blood pressure with shock and anaphylaxis. The most common food allergies are to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts , fish and shellfish, as well as soy and wheat. There is no cure for food allergies. You need to carefully manage your food allergies with prevention and vigilance.

How Is Eoe Treated

There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for EoE. Most people are initially treated with a proton-pump inhibitor antacid, which resolves EoE in up to half of cases. If this does not work, either a mild topical steroid or identification and elimination of specific dietary triggers is attempted.

When steroids are used to treat EoE, these are generally in a liquid formulation that is swallowed, rather than inhaled as they would be for asthma. Swallowed steroids act locally on the esophagus and are minimally absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. Although steroids for EoE are generally safe and effective, they do not lead to a long-term cure because the disease tends to come back as long as patients continue to eat foods that trigger the underlying allergic response.

Patients may also opt to identify their food trigger and eliminate it from the diet, and this represents a more definitive treatment approach. Unfortunately, currently available allergy testing does not accurately predict the foods that cause EoE. Trigger foods generally need to be identified using a process of food elimination and reintroduction. Wheat and dairy are the two most common triggers for EoE, and patients will often start by eliminating these two foods for about eight weeks. At that point, their symptoms are reassessed, and they also undergo a repeat endoscopy with biopsies to determine if the eosinophils have disappeared in response to the dietary changes.

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Young Children Avoiding Allergens

Avoiding well-known allergens early in life may increase the risk of developing an allergy, according to Kings College Londons LEAP study. It found early childhood exposure to peanut decreases the risk of developing a peanut allergy, and identified an 81 percent reduction in peanut allergy among five-year-old children who regularly ate peanut from the year they were born in comparison to those who did not.

The theory behind this finding is called dual allergen exposure. It identifies that even if children avoid eating allergens, they will still be exposed to them through dust, contact with furniture and possibly creams, and this can trigger an immune response. Where the development of allergy antibodies takes place through the skin, particularly through inflamed skin in babies with eczema, before a food has been eaten or drunk, the immune system over-reacts to the food, explains Santos, who was involved in the LEAP study. It is suggested this is why infants with eczema are more likely to develop an allergy.

There is thought to be a window of opportunity in the early years to establish tolerance to potential allergens, as the guts immune system is prepared to tolerate… foreign substances, such as food, says Santos. The NHS website offers advice on introducing foods that can trigger allergic reactions to babies and toddlers.

Are Food Allergies On The Rise

Yes, according to recent research by the Centers for Disease Control. Between 1997 and 2007, research showed an 18% increase in food allergies in children under 18. In fact, food allergy research has become a priority at the National Institutes of Health precisely because food allergies affect so many people. Continued research is important because even though some risk factors have been identified for food allergy, we still dont fully understand why a patients immune system suddenly recognizes a food as foreign and manifests allergic symptoms. New research is working to solve these mysteries by examining the mechanisms of food allergy in order to treat, and even prevent, food allergy.

The rise in food allergy also means that there are more people in neighborhoods and classrooms living with food allergy and more families for whom it is normal to inquire about ingredients. For example, the Food Allergy Research and Education non-profit organization reports that the number of children with peanut allergies tripled between 1997 and 2008. Peanut allergies now affect approximately 0.6% of the population, and tree nut allergies also have a high prevalence of 0.4-0.5%.

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Why Might Eoe Be On The Rise

The exact reasons for the rise of EoE are unknown, and it is especially puzzling that in many cases EoE results from an allergic sensitivity to a food that has been well tolerated up to that point.

There are several hypotheses about why EoE is increasing. Many of them relate back to the idea that EoE, and other allergic and autoimmune diseases, seem to correlate with decreased exposure to microbes and infections. Possible explanations that have been explored include:

• The hygiene hypothesis: do fewer childhood infections equal more allergic diseases?
• Microbial dysbiosis: has the modern/Western diet and lifestyle changed our microbiome?
• Environmental factors: might changes in food production, genetic modification of crops, chemical additives, food processing, and pollutants play a role?
• Declining frequency of H. pylori infection: might this common stomach bacteria be protective against some allergic diseases?
• Increasing frequency of gastroesophageal reflux disease : could acid reflux break the barrier of the esophagus and allow food allergens to stimulate the immune system?
• Increasing use of acid-suppressing medications: does the use of antacids, especially early in life, change the microbes in the esophagus or somehow otherwise alter the risk of later food allergy?

Does The Principles Of The Hygiene Hypothesis Lead To An Increase In Food Allergies

In the 1980s, Professor P. Strachan discovered children in larger households had less allergic rhinitis , an allergic disease of the nose, due to exposure to germs by older siblings . He created the Hygiene Hypothesis, arguing fundamental changes in lifestyle led to reductions in exposure to pathogens, important for the development of immunoregulatory mechanisms. Therefore, hygiene and a westernized, semi-sterile diet may facilitate atopy by influencing the stimulation of gut-associated lymphoid tissue. The US Food and Drug Association is of the opinion that a child must be exposed to germs so the immune system can develop and strengthen but this shall include an avoidance of serious infections. Changes in industrialised countries may have had a part to play and include decontamination of water supplies, pasteurisation and sterilisation of milk, vaccinations, and wide use of antibiotics .

In the 1990s, Dr Erika von Mutius compared rates of allergies in Germany, finding East Germanys children, who lived in dirtier cities, had lower allergic reactions than children in the West . More infections in the East may promote normal development of the immune system, with a bias for non-allergic Th1 cells rather than allergic inflammatory Th2 cells , reducing the risk of allergy.

Table 1 Per Capita Consumption of Soaps and Detergents.

The effect of common behavioural changes and practices in the developed world on food allergy prevalence

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The Extent Of This Issue

Many professionals believe allergies are increasing globally . Allergies, the most common chronic disease in Europe, affect more than 20% of the United Kingdom population . The Centres for Disease Control & Prevention reported from 1997-2008, peanut/tree nut allergies tripled in US children. In a US nationwide, cross-sectional telephone survey it was found the prevalence of peanut/tree nut allergy in children was 0.6% , 1.2% , 2.1% .

Hospital records provide strong evidence; there was a 615% increase in the rate of hospital admissions in the UK for anaphylaxis from 1992-2012 , highlighting the rise of pressure on the NHS.

Allergies can cause disruption to daily tasks like sleeping, eating out and socialising . Studies show children with food allergies are more likely to be bullied , further leading to a negative impact on a childs emotional and physical health . Dr Rebecca Knibb, health psychologist, found having a food allergy causes greater distress and 40% of children and teens use avoidance strategies, avoiding events where food is present .

There is a large economic impact for those living with or caring for someone with a food allergy, especially without universal healthcare systems. It costs US families $25 billion annually , including medical costs, special food and absence from work . Consequently, there are adverse effects on the financial stability of families and the welfare of individuals.

Allergies Are On The Rise And Here Are Three Reasons Why

Outrage over soaring prices for EpiPen, a life-saving allergy treatment, has drawn renewed attention to the number of children suffering from allergies.

As more children grapple with these ailments, the reasons behind the spike are still being debated. Lots of money is at stake: The diagnosis and treatment of allergies is a nearly $26 billion market, according to data from Grandview Research.

Research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that food allergies in children have increased approximately 50 percent between 1997 and 2011, now affecting 1 in 13 children in the United States. This translates to roughly two students in every classroom.

About 90 percent of allergic reactions come from these eight foods alone: Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish. In total, food allergies cause about 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year, just among children under age 18.

With those numbers on the rise, a few theories are being explored, including one linked to Western society’s obsession with fighting germs. The so-called hygiene hypothesis posits that a lack of exposure to infectious agents early in childhood can create a scenario where the immune system mistakes a food protein as an invading germ.

“We are being too clean,” Dr. Leigh Vinocur of the American College of Emergency Physicians told CNBC recently. “We’re essentially creating allergies for ourselves.”

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If It Seems Like Your Seasonal Allergies Are On A Four

If you already suffer from a certain type of allergy, you may be more prone to additional allergies. People who have allergy tendencies are considered atopic. Basically their immune system is more likely to over-react to the outside world as a perceived threat, say Shawn Nasseri, MD, ENT-otolaryngologist in Beverly Hills, California. There is heightened activity by the allergy system which increases local and regional inflammatory hormones called cytokines that are responsible for generalized allergic reactions, face or limb swelling, etc. As a result of this reaction in the body, allergies can cross react and create even more allergic reactions. Here are the most common allergies that are on the rise and that you should look out for if you already suffer from a certain allergy type.

What Are Food Allergies And How Big Of A Problem Are They

An allergy to food begins in the immune system.;

With a food allergy, the immune system sees the proteins that are found in the food as harmful, so it reacts by releasing a number of chemicals which are responsible for the symptoms that someone experiences with an allergic reaction.;

In other words, this allergic reaction is truly an immune system overreaction.;;

Typical symptoms of an allergic reaction to food can range from mild to severe.;

• Itching

• Fish
• Some fruits and vegetables

Worldwide, food allergies have increased from 3% of the population in 1960 to 7% of the population in 2018.;

And, while that doesnt seem like a large jump simply looking at those numbers, considering the differences in population from 1960 to 2018 , that 4% increase is much greater than it sounds.;

But, the number of people dealing with food allergies isnt the only thing that is concerning. The types of foods that people are allergic to today has increased as well.;

And, there are a few theories that offer explanations as to why food allergies are both increasing in rate and expanding in range.;

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Top Reasons Food Allergies Are On The Rise

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For years, scientists couldnt understand why ancient human skeletons rarely show signs of joint pain or arthritis

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These foods were staples in the ancestral diet. But 99% of Americans today dont eat enough of them and thats one reason why millions suffer with chronic pain.

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Establishment Of Thresholds Key

There is a large range in individual threshold doses, says Steve Taylor, PhD, director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. If you just look at peanut allergy alone, some people have to eat several peanuts, or a hand full to get sick. Other people would react to small specks. For specific measures of what induces an allergic reaction there is enough published data out there, Dr. Taylor thinks, to get a consensus on how much is too muchinsofar as food production is concernedand how that threshold, or reference dose should be the industry standard for the detection and prevention of cross-contact.

Yet, precise regulatory guidelines are lacking. None of the public health agencies have established regulatory reference doses so, in the absence of official action, everybody continues to work towards zero, which of course you can never achieve.

Is Improved Hygiene To Blame

The hygiene hypothesis suggests early childhood exposure to bacteria protects against the development of allergies. It proposes that in modern society there is a reduced opportunity for cross-infection in households, as a result of reduced household size, improvements in household amenities, and higher standards of personal hygiene. Many scientists criticise this hypothesis, however, and experts agree good hygiene is important for guarding against disease.

A more recent version of the theory, the old friends hypothesis, proposes the issue is not the cleanliness of your home, but whether your gut is encountering different types of microorganisms. Graham Rook, who developed the theory, suggests because we have a long evolutionary association with particular microorganisms, they are recognised by the immune system as harmless. But our gut microbiota are slowly changing due to our modern lifestyle, so we have fewer of the old friend microbes that helped our immune system respond to foreign substances. There is evidence that taking antibiotics in childhood may increase your risk of food allergy, as they kill friendly gut bacteria as well as bad bacteria. The microbiome in the gut will likely influence our ability to tolerate food or develop food allergy, says Santos, particularly in early life.

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