Sharp rise in food allergies

[debodun]

Key Reasons for the Increase:

The Hygiene Hypothesis: Cleaner, modernized environments mean people are exposed to fewer germs, leading their immune systems to overreact to harmless food proteins instead of fighting infections.

Gut Microbiome Changes: A modern diet high in ultra-processed foods can damage the gut barrier, while early-life antibiotic use can destroy healthy bacteria, leaving the immune system vulnerable.

Delayed Allergen Exposure: Previous guidelines delayed introducing common allergens (like peanuts) to infants. Newer research shows that introducing these foods earlier helps prevent allergies.

Vitamin D Deficiency: Lower levels of vitamin D, potentially from spending more time indoors, may weaken the immune system's ability to tolerate foods.

Environmental Factors: Pollution and increased, unnatural skin exposure to allergens may contribute to sensitization.

Rising Adult Allergies: Although common in children, food allergies are increasingly appearing for the first time in adults.

 

[hollydolly]

Yes I believe all of the above are very relevant causes... Numero Uno & Dos..in particular

 

[Aunt Bea]

Our local Mets baseball farm team now has a peanut controlled area in the stands for people with peanut allergies.

The times they are a changin’.

 

[CaliS]

I blame pesticides and other man made reasons - for the US - all the toxic stuff they add to our food, so it can sit on a shelf longer and they can make more money.

 

[StarSong]

I agree all of the factors in @debodun's post are contributors.

 

[Messy]

View attachment 498227

Our local Mets baseball farm team now has a peanut controlled area in the stands for people with peanut allergies.

The times they are a changin’.

In the 90s we had 2 Indonesian women in church, a mother and a daughter. We went to visit them. The elderly mother kept asking if we wanted to eat, but my ex kept saying no, which is not very polite, but the reason he did that was: she kept the meat outside of the fridge. He is half Indonesian, born in Holland. He said there they have these food stalls where the meat is out in the open, but their stomachs are used to it.

AI:
Raw meat is often exposed to high temperatures. Although this is considered unsafe in the West (bacterial growth after 2 hours), in Asia meat is sometimes kept outside the refrigerator for as long as 12 hours, which poses risks.

 

[Nathan]

Key Reasons for the Increase:

The Hygiene Hypothesis: Cleaner, modernized environments mean people are exposed to fewer germs, leading their immune systems to overreact to harmless food proteins instead of fighting infections.

Gut Microbiome Changes: A modern diet high in ultra-processed foods can damage the gut barrier, while early-life antibiotic use can destroy healthy bacteria, leaving the immune system vulnerable.

Delayed Allergen Exposure: Previous guidelines delayed introducing common allergens (like peanuts) to infants. Newer research shows that introducing these foods earlier helps prevent allergies.

Vitamin D Deficiency: Lower levels of vitamin D, potentially from spending more time indoors, may weaken the immune system's ability to tolerate foods.

Environmental Factors: Pollution and increased, unnatural skin exposure to allergens may contribute to sensitization.

Rising Adult Allergies: Although common in children, food allergies are increasingly appearing for the first time in adults.

Agreed mostly, but I see the The Hygiene Hypothesis as flawed or incomplete.

 

[Messy]

I just see this:

 

[EmptyCup]

When my kids were in preschool, a local breadmaker would stop by and give free samples to the kids at the school gate. One day the director saw him doing it and lost her $&@!. Allergies! Food poisoning! Lawsuits! I suppose I don’t blame her. From then on the bread man had to give the bread to the director and she could give it out to kids on the approved “not allergic to wheat” list.

 

[Babs2u]

Yes I believe all of the above are very relevant causes... Numero Uno & Dos..in particular

I seem to remember that people living in germ free environments were susceptible to all sorts of disease

 

[hollydolly]

I seem to remember that people living in germ free environments were susceptible to all sorts of disease

yes absolutely that's why amazonian jungle tribes and the like are protected so much from the outside world...preventing people like us from just going off to find them on a whim.. because they're absolutely not ptotected from illnesses that we shrug off... which would kill them,..even just the flu would knock them dead...