Today, about 32 million Americans have food allergies, more than ever. The CDC reports that 1 in 13 children – or about two students per classroom – has food allergies. The question is: what is causing this epidemic?
In an article published today in the magazine Cell, Four Yale immunobiologists propose that an over-activation of our food quality control system is largely to blame for the increased prevalence of food allergies. (Related: The 7 healthiest foods to eat now.)
Prior to this research, a prevalent theory suggested that the absence of natural pathogens – such as parasites in the modern environment – may be causing our bodies to become hypersensitive to certain foods. After all, our immune system has evolved over time to deal with these natural threats, and now that we don’t find them, it reacts to something we encounter every day – food.
Now, immunobiologists say that our current food quality control system, which is designed to protect us from eating harmful foods, may be to blame for why so many Americans are developing allergies to common foods. Between unnatural substances in highly processed foods and environmental chemicals in dishwashing detergents, for example – in addition to the absence of natural microbial exposure – they all interrupt the food quality control program.
So, how does it affect you or your loved ones? Think of it this way: how should we treat these allergies without knowledge of because is happening?
“We cannot conceive of ways to prevent or treat food allergies until we fully understand the underlying biology,” said co-author Ruslan Medzhitov, Professor of Immunobiology Sterling and researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in a statement shared with Eat this, not that! “You can’t be a good auto mechanic if you don’t know how a normal car works.”
There is a type of immune system response that fires when we ingest toxins and acts to neutralize the threat. However, this same response also triggers allergies – environmental and food. Again, this hypersensitivity to pollen and gluten – for example – occurs as a result of the lack of real natural threats (parasites) in the current food system.
According to this original theory, this immune response targets harmless proteins found in certain food groups, such as those found in the 8 major food allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, fish, crustaceans, wheat and soy).
Yale researchers, however, are now theorizing that three other environmental factors influenced the quality control system for natural foods, arguing that they also contributed significantly to our immune system’s hypersensitivity to various foods.
“One factor is the increased use of hygiene products and overuse of antibiotics and, second, a change in diet and increased consumption of processed foods with reduced exposure to naturally grown foods and altered composition of the intestinal microbiome “said Medzhitov.
“Finally, the introduction of food preservatives and environmental chemicals, such as dishwashing detergents, has introduced new elements for the immune system to monitor.”
In short, the authors of this article propose that these behaviors are what are driving the immune system to attack food proteins in the same way that it would do toxic substances.
Until more research is conducted and we are more clear about the actions we can take on a daily basis to decrease our exposure to these unnatural substances and chemicals, in the meantime, what better reason to further limit the consumption of processed foods ?
For more tips and tricks on how to eat healthy meals at home, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.