Deadly food allergies are on the rise among children. A recent study found that food allergies had doubled between 2008 and 2018. Most of these affect children. From processed food to antibiotics, there may be many reasons for the increase in allergies, and an urgent need for better safety measures.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00163-4/fulltext

From the linked article:

Deadly food allergies are on the rise among children. The cause isn’t what you might think

From processed food to antibiotics, there are many reasons for the increase in allergies – and an urgent need for better safety measures

A recent study in the Lancet Public Health journal provides answers. Led by Paul Turner of Imperial College London, it found that food allergies had doubled between 2008 and 2018. Most of these affect children. By reviewing data from GP surgeries in England, the researchers found that across all age groups, food allergies had increased from 0.4% to 1.1% of the population.

Since 2014, the rise has been less notable, which is possibly due to advice from NHS and medical staff to introduce potential food allergens into the diet of children before the age of 12 months. Early introduction seems to substantially reduce the risk of developing allergies to foods such as peanut and egg. But we can’t see what has happened more recently: the Lancet Public Health analysis couldn’t go beyond 2020 because the Covid pandemic affected GP visits and data.

One possible explanation is the rise of the “western” diet, which is high in ultra-processed foods. A 2022 study of nearly 3,000 children and 4,256 adults in the US suggested that consuming ultra-processed foods was associated with allergy symptoms in children and adolescents. Perhaps the full detrimental impacts of ultra-processed foods are only now being recognised, as data is collected and analysed. There are close links between the gut microbiome and the immune system; similar concerns have been raised about their possible link to digestive-tract cancers in young people.

Another theory is that those who develop allergies are deficient in vitamin D, the vitamin our body produces when exposed to sunlight. Surveys have shown that children are spending an increasing amount of time indoors on screens instead of outdoors playing. This isn’t just a post-pandemic trend: it has been happening for more than a decade, alongside the growing use of tablets, games consoles and phones.

Other explanations have included the widespread use of antibiotics in young children (for ear infections or other ailments), which affect the digestive tract, rising air pollution and early exposure to skin infections. The health community will continue to look to scientists such as Turner, who is also a paediatric allergy consultant, to test the various hypotheses on why these allergies are developing and what can be done to prevent them in children.

I’m visiting Paris yet again. I’m from Northeast America. I can eat anything I want here. Anything.
So I’m wondering why I live in a country where my food is poison?
Why have we let the food industry poison the food supply?
The worst is that I have to pay more to buy food that doesn’t poison me.
Does any of this make sense?
The reason is:

Why does food in Europe not hurt my stomach?
It is possible that it is not actually gluten or dairy that is causing them stomach discomfort in the United States, but rather the added chemicals and preservatives. Because these are less common in European countries, travelers may feel a sense of temporary relief.

But what about the shareholders!?