From Annoying to Deadly: The Scoop with Food Allergies

It’s no secret allergies are an enormous issue, a menace really that has turned the simple joy of breathing spring air into a pollen-filled battleground. Not only for those of us who can’t drive when spring comes in full swing, but also to those who have severe reactions that put their life at risk. As of January 2023. According to the CDC, over 1 in 3 Americans experience some form of allergy, that’s a very large figure!

What this newsletter is going to focus on more closely are food allergies, which tend to have much worse affects and, by the way, are a nightmare for food regulators that inspect any establishment that sells food products. Food allergies have been risingat a steady rate for well over 2 decades. How much have food allergies risen? Over 125% since 1997. Now that we’ve set the tone, let’s get into it.

What Are Allergies?

Isn’t it peculiar? Humans are becoming increasingly allergic to the very food that keeps us alive. Et tu Body? But let’s set aside the absurdity for now. Regardless of what our opinion is, allergies are here, and they're probably going to stay. 

It’s simple enough: allergies are an abnormal immune response to a substance that should be harmless. We can distinguish two types of allergic reactions depending on the implication of immunoglobulin E (IGE):

Mediated by IGE: This is the allergy you've probably heard of and also the one that is the most studied. Without getting into too much detail, IGE binds to immune cells called mast cells, which releases massive amounts of histamine which then trigger an inflammatory response throughout the body. These histamines ignite inflammation, ranging from mild irritation to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Depending on the severity, more or less histamine will be released, directly influencing the severity of the reaction. In the worst of cases the inflammation will cause swelling of the bronchial tissues that can cause a person to not be able to breathe. The cause of such a reaction is basically any kind of nonhuman protein such as: nuts, grains, shellfish, crustaceans, cereals, some vegetables and fruits, fish, etc.

Not Mediated IGE: This type of allergy has been the medical community's riddle for quite some time, but they eventually classified it as a food intolerance because there was no implication of IGE. That was until the scientific community found out that it doesn’t involve the usual suspects like histamines but instead recruits a type of white blood cell, lymphocytes (T-cells) to join the drama (now that’s a sweet name for a reality TV show). People with this type of allergy experience chronic symptoms, and have a larger tolerance than those with the other type. The symptoms are slower to develop and milder, making them easier to live with but trickier to diagnose. Celiac disease and lactose intolerance are classic examples of this category.

There is not a single defined cause for the rise of allergies but, we can safely say that it may be a combination of the following factors: 

• Too Little Exposure: Remember when you could eat a sandwich after it hit the dirt? And of course, a childhood spent knee-deep in mud, chasing bugs, and wondering if that snail you caught could be trained as a pet. And let's face it showering wasn’t one of your priorities either. Those were the good old days. This meant that you were constantly encountering new microorganisms and molecules that your immune system was quick to study, learn and protect itself against. This was an excellent way of developing a robust immune system that will protect you during your whole life. Nowadays, well, it’s like kids play a video game on proper childhood grossness instead of actually experiencing it. 

  It turns out that all this cleanliness might be compromising our immune systems. Without a proper immune “workout” during childhood, the body can end up being hyper-reactive to harmless substances. One of the leading factors to this trend may be the heavy migration from rural towns to urban settings.

• Too Much (food) Exposure: Yes, it's possible to develop food allergies from repeated exposure, but it's not common. Most food allergies occur due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, rather than just overexposure. However, in some cases, sensitization can happen after frequent contact with certain foods or allergens.

• Plastics: These forever chemicals are in (almost) every cell of your body and most of the food you eat. The problem, as if that wasn’t one, is that these plastics may alter the way that our immune system reacts to allergens, either by carrying allergens deeper into our bodies or by causing dysbiosis or gut imbalance that further amplifies allergic reactions.

The Risks of Elimination Diets

The (in)famous elimination diet which, like many things, is only really useful to those who need it. If you’ve been diagnosed with a genuine food allergy, eliminating that food is obviously a lifeline. But what about the rest of us who ditch dairy because an Instagram influencer told us to?

Practically speaking, nutrient elimination (for no good reason) during a long period of time can cause food intolerance. Here’s another health mantra to add to the books, “you lose what you don’t use”. When you stop consuming something like dairy, your body stops producing the enzymes (like lactase) needed to digest it. Fast forward a few months, and now you're lactose intolerant. Gold star for you!

Theoretically speaking, the same idea can be applied to our immune system, in a process called “loss of tolerance”. This happens to a lot of adults who acquire allergies later in life. This basically means that a protein that was identified as good/safe by our immune system is “forgotten”, possibly due to eliminating it for a long period of time. So the next time you reintroduce that food, your body identifies it as an intruder or antigen, and attacks it. This is an allergic reaction.

How to Minimize Risk

Play in the mud! Not literally, unless of course that's your type of thing. This bit is more applicable to the kids of the younger generation than us, being civilized adults and all. Exposure to worldly grossness (within reason) is a key factor in developing a well-balanced immune response, and can help reduce sensitivities later in life.

Eat well: Here comes shocker #2, good nutrition is key to a well-functioning immune system. Both minerals and vitamins are crucial for this, more specifically: 

• Vitamin D: Directly modulates gene regulation of the immune system (that’s a biggie)

• Magnesium: Regulates the function of immune cells and promotes the production of antibodies.

• Selenium: Acts as an antioxidant which protects cells, supports the production and function of T-cells and macrophages (immune cells), both critical for fighting off infections.

Final Thoughts

Ever heard of a Mars baby? Not like a candy baby, a baby from the planet Mars. Well they say if he/she were to come back to Earth, the lack of exposure to Earth microorganisms, germs, viruses would take the baby out in no time. Well, in a not so dramatic way, a lack of exposure to certain foods, germs, etc. can cause some not so favorable outcomes. With that pretty random example out of the way, we hope you learned something new about allergies this week, and as a little side note, we encourage you to send us some topics you're curious about. We’ll do the homework, you just share your curiosity!

Until next week!