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Science Weekly

Why are food allergies on the rise and is a cure on the horizon?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 β€’ 1K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 1 June 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Food allergies appear to be increasing globally, but as scientific understanding improves, some experts believe we may one day be able to eliminate them altogether. Ian Sample speaks to Dr Kari Nadeau, an allergy specialist at Harvard School of Public Health and author of the book The End of Food Allergy, to discuss why food allergies are on the rise and what we can do to prevent – and possibly even cure – them. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Guardian. This summer see the European box office smash that critics aren't raving about

0:14.7

The count of Monte Cristo is timeless and thrillingly new. Five-star says total film.

0:21.0

Rotten tomatoes rates it at 100%. It's a big exciting swashbuckling

0:25.8

adventure stunning, a genuine triumph based on Alexander Dumas's classic tale.

0:31.0

A few count of his life. The Count of Monte Cristo, in Cinema's inconvenient, worrying, and in rare cases even fatal.

0:55.0

And they seem to be on the rise, with some studies suggesting that rates of peanut allergy

1:01.8

among children in Western countries have doubled in a decade.

1:06.0

But we also understand more than ever about what causes and what might prevent allergies.

1:12.0

Some experts believe that one day we may be able to

1:15.7

eradicate them altogether. So what's behind the rise in food allergy?

1:23.0

How can we protect ourselves?

1:25.0

What would a cure look like?

1:28.0

I'm the Guardian Science Center, Ian Sample,

1:31.0

and this is Science Weekly.

1:35.0

Dr. Kari Nadeau, your chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health and you practice

1:44.1

allergy asthma and immunology in children and adults. You're also the author of the book

1:49.6

The End of Food Allergy. First of all, can we distinguish between a food allergy and a food

1:56.8

sensitivity? What's the difference there?

1:59.7

So a food allergy is a disease in which The food in two hours, you can get

2:05.0

a food within two hours, you can get hives or stomach ache,

2:12.0

or breathing issues and the reason behind that allergy you have a

2:18.3

preformed molecule in your body called IGE that is like the match that lights the fire that within two hours

...

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