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 | Food allergies are becoming increasingly common in the United States (U.S.), particularly in children. The rate of peanut allergy, in particular, has doubled in the U.S. and other Westernized countries over the last 10 years - and now affects 1 to 2% of the population. It is not clear why other countries in the world have lower rates of peanut allergy than in the U.S., but it is thought that the type of food processing method used might play a major role. In the U.S. and U.K., peanuts are generally dry roasted, compared to other countries in the world, where peanuts are more commonly boiled, fried or even pickled. A recent study looked at how processing peanuts changed how people with peanut allergy reacted to them - rather, how IgE antibodies in a blood sample reacted to peanut allergens in a blood test for allergies. If how peanuts are processed affects the ability of the food to result in a food allergy, it begs the question: Does eating processed foods, in general, influence the chance of developing food allergies? Since we as a society frequently eat more processed foods, and less "raw" (unprocessed) foods, this could be one explanation as to why there has been an increase in the rate of food allergies over the past few decades. Food processing could change the characteristic of the food allergen, making it more likely to cause symptoms of food allergy. We may find that certain types of processing causes more allergies, while other processing methods don't affect the risk of food allergy -- or even reduce the chance of developing food allergies. | |
Food Processing and Peanut Allergy
Food allergies are becoming increasingly common in the United States (U.S.), particularly in children. The rate of peanut allergy, in particular, has doubled in the U.S. and other Westernized countries over the last 10 years - and now affects 1 to 2% of the population. Severe, life-threatening allergic reactions to peanut are common in people with peanut allergy, and have resulted in dozens of deaths in the United States and the United Kingdom (U.K.) over the past 15 years. In other parts of the world, such as in Korea, China and Israel, the rate of peanut allergy is much lower than that of Westernized countries, for reasons that are not completely understood.
| Peanut Allergies
Peanut allergy is the most common form of food allergy in school age children and adults. Milk and egg allergy are more common in infants and toddlers, but allergies to these foods are commonly outgrown by school age. Recent studies show that in North America and the United Kingdom, 1% of children have peanut allergy.
| All About Food Allergies
Your doctor has just told you that you have food allergies. Now what? Unless you had a long discussion with him or her as to what this means, you're probably feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. You might be thinking, "What symptoms should I look for? How was this diagnosed? What are the treatments available? Will my food allergy ever go away?" These questions, and others, are common when a person is first diagnosed with food allergies. Find out the answers to these questions and more.
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