Bei Kindern nehmen tödliche Nahrungsmittelallergien zu. Eine aktuelle Studie ergab, dass sich die Zahl der Nahrungsmittelallergien zwischen 2008 und 2018 verdoppelt hat. Die meisten davon betreffen Kinder. Von verarbeiteten Lebensmitteln bis hin zu Antibiotika kann es viele Gründe für die Zunahme von Allergien und einen dringenden Bedarf an besseren Sicherheitsmaßnahmen geben.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/30/food-allergies-children-england-safety
6 Comments
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.
When greedy and cheap cross the boundaries altogther.
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.
They talk about reasons, explanations and theories, but what they are really talking about are hypotheses.
If their data stops at 2018 then they can’t make the conclusion that food allergies are still on the rise. The article even acknowledges that and says they have no post-COVID data.
Anecdotally, from what I see in my kids’ preschool classes, food allergies peaked in 2021, when they had a whole class (1/3 of the school) dedicated to kids with food allergies. COVID likely did not help either, if you believe the hygiene hypothesis. The only one of my kids with a food allergy is the COVID baby – his older and younger siblings have nothing.
And the reason (again ignoring the hygiene hypothesis, which personally I find very compelling) is that pediatric guidance changed in the early 2020s from avoidance to early exposure. Also, OIT is a thing now, which means that many kids who would’ve had a lifelong allergy are now getting treated and outgrowing it at early ages.
The key is that the “Western diet” lacks fiber and fermented foods. A reduced intake of fiber can decrease the population of beneficial gut bacteria, particularly those that produce short-chain fatty acids, which are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Without these metabolites, microtears in the gut lining may allow larger food particles and antigens to pass into the bloodstream, triggering an inflammatory immune response that contributes to food allergies.
That in combination with use of antibiotics can increase vulnerability to harmful bacteria, leading to a cascade of inflammatory events that compromise immune tolerance.
After a course of antibiotics, doctors should be recommending foods high in fiber (e.g., oats, chia and flax seed, avocado, blueberries) and in pre- and pro-bitoics like yogurt and breastmilk (if accessible) to get those healthy cultures back into the gut, and then slowly re-introduce foods known to be associated with allergies. That way, there’s enough time to restore the microbiome to balance out the bacteria that produce inflammatory metabolites.