Are Food Allergies Getting a Little Nutty?

For those of you who were alive when people were a bit less paranoid about their health, think back a bit. Ten, fifteen or twenty years ago, did you hear a lot of talk about food allergies? Probably not. But today, with gluten allergies, nut allergies, egg allergies (and more!) on the rise, it doesn't seem like you can pick up a paper without reading about them. Especially when the story in question has to do with kids.

It's true: there's no doubt that food allergies are becoming a bigger and bigger problem in children today. And not just in North America. In the UK and the rest of Europe, food allergies are also on the rise, with peanut allergies in young children having doubled between 1989 and 1994. And probably having more than doubled between then and now.

While there are many theories behind the rising rates of food allergies in most of the world, the truth is that scientists don't really know what's causing it. The best answer they have is that most of the western world is, well, too clean. Because people today are exposed to fewer and fewer microorganisms and parasites, immune systems --especially those of children-- are getting paranoid and going on overdrive. While this doesn't fully explain the rise in food allergy (and general allergy) rates in children, it's the best answer we have so far.

Why Parents are Paranoid

If you or somebody in your family doesn't have food allergies (and especially nut allergies, which are some of the most worrisome), the drastic steps parents and schools are taking to protect allergic kids probably seem a little extreme. But while most food allergies aren't as severe as parents believe them to be, they can sometimes be quite dangerous. In fact, parents' worries about even having their child in the same room as a peanut have caused airlines to stop serving them as an on-board snack (that is, if they still serve any snack at all!), and many American schools to designate themselves "nut free." So much for the peanut butter sandwich.

Going Overboard

If you have kids of your own --or even if you don't-- you can probably understand that parents worry about their children's health. When you suspect that your child's allergy might be dangerous (or even life threatening, as a severe peanut allergy can be), you want to do everything you can to prevent their coming into contact with what causes it. But there's a difference between protecting your child and going overboard about food allergies.

Sure, you need to prevent an allergic child from ingesting the food he or she is allergic to. But studies are showing that the "nut free" mania that's taking over many homes and schools is almost a waste of effort. A study done in 2003 showed that, after having peanut butter smeared on their skin or smelling peanuts, 90% of children suffered nothing more than a rash, and not one of them developed breathing problems or had any other systemic reactions. In fact, fatalities due to peanut allergies are less common than fatalities from bee stings, with only 15 to 20 deaths a year in the U.S.. Which makes the idea of evacuating school busses because one peanut was spotted board sound pretty ludicrous (yes, this has happened). You don't see schools being evacuated because too many bee-attracting flowers are in the area, do you?

Now, none of this is intended to say that severe food allergies aren't a grave problem, especially when it comes to our kids. But it doesn't appear that going nutty over food allergies (like obsessively labeling products to the point that those labels lose all meaning, or creating nut-free schools, homes, and airplanes) have done anything to lessen the problem. More important than extreme prevention measures, most doctors insist, is to educate kids and caregivers about how to deal with food allergies when they appear.

But just to be safe, maybe you should say that you live in a "peanut free zone" on your internet dating profile, just in case somebody with an allergic kid wants to pop by for lunch.

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