Why Does Everyone Have Food Allergies These Days?

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's not your imagination, food allergies are really on the rise. One recent study found that severe allergic reactions to food have increased by more than 300 percent over the past decade. And they don't just affect Americans or kids—they're on the rise in adults around the world. Even pets are getting food allergies. So what's going on? Why would your body decide that food—something that's actually essential to keeping you alive—needs to be attacked like a dangerous invader? And why would we evolve a defense mechanism that can end up killing us? This episode, we've got the history and the latest scientist on food allergies: what they are, what causes them, how they're different from food intolerance and sensitivity, and what we can do about them. Join us on a wild journey from ancient Pharoahs to the future of medicine, via jellyfish, Calvin Coolidge, and "rose fever," as we figure this all out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	A new report out shows that the rate of severe allergic reactions to foods, just like peanuts,
0:08.9	has increased by nearly five times over just the past decade.
0:12.8	This government survey put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
0:16.7	says that one in 20 US kids have food allergies.
0:20.7	Nearly 6 million children in the US now suffer from food allergies. That's equal to two
0:25.9	students in every classroom. Some of the questions we get most often from you listeners are about food allergies about the
0:35.2	science about the history about treatments and tests lots of you have personal
0:39.9	experience with this hi gastropod my name is Louisa and I'm allergic to tree nuts.
0:45.0	That means every nut except peanuts, which are actually legumes, and coconut, which is not a nut at all.
0:51.0	For some reason, pine nuts are okay as well.
0:54.0	Hi there, my name is Nicole. I am a resident physician surgeon working in California and I am allergic to fish.
1:01.0	Specifically all fish that have bones. So swordfish, salmon, tuna,
1:06.7	mahi mahi mahi, any of those. I am allergic to all of them.
1:10.5	Hi, my name is Sahar Madras.
1:12.6	I reside in Gilbert, Arizona, in the US,
1:15.0	and a mom of three, an entrepreneur,
1:16.5	and an absolutely big food geek.
1:19.4	We have various allergies in our family,
1:20.9	but the weirdest one I'd like to share is that of my
1:24.8	five-year-old she came out with allergies to nuts she's not allergic to all nuts though
1:29.1	she can have hazelnuts almonds cookednuts, but not raw ones.
1:33.7	That is a little strange, but when you stop and think about it,
	...

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