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[sam12]

I feel like since the last 10 years, there has been an increasing trend of allergy development.
Food allergies involving gluten, dairy, peanut, seafood and even things like strawberry.
People allergic to cold or to heat/sun.
If not allergic, people are also intolerant to things like dairy or gluten.
Don't remember it being this severe when I was a kid in 90s. What do you think contributes to all these allergies developing? Is it the lack of nutrients in food that we eat or the environment or both? Seems most of these are concentrated in US as well.

 

[Lunaray]

Not sure why. But if I were to guess, a combination of more public health awareness of allergies, better allergy diagnoses, more built up and polluted environments, and food industries getting increasingly creative with processed food ingredients.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Are you sure you're not just hearing about it more than ever?

 

[bananafactory]

No idea. I've been allergic to peanuts my entire life but over the years I've also suddenly developed allergies to common food like peas, sesame, and I think some types of preservatives too.

Definitely does feel like they are increasing in general but I have no idea why

 

[WedgeX]

I think improvements to diagnosis, awareness about allergies, and increased treatment methods have fueled this rather than a rise in the percentage of people who have allergies. Maybe the industrial revolution increased some allergies/associated conditions like asthma. But otherwise I'm sure our species has always had allergies and has just never addressed them.

I have soy and almond allergies but they were not diagnosed until my early 20s. The symptoms were always written off as other causes by doctors until then.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I think there has been a general raise in the awareness of allergies. I don't know if the actual occurrence of allergies has increased.

With the awareness of allergies, there has also been a rush to blame certain ailments on allergies that we did not do before. Gluten intolerance wasn't really a thing in popular culture until the last decade, but it's a common thing to point a finger at nowadays (even if it's prevalence is disputed by most accepted science).

It's probably more an issue of perception than physical change.

 

[Somnid]

A lot of it is hypothesized to come from diet. There is a pretty strong link between the immune system and the intestines. Some have proposed the idea of a "leaky gut" where things like gluten in some people create permeability in the intestinal lining causing the partially processed food matter and bacteria to spill into the tissue and trigger immune response, and for those genetically prone to auto-immune awakens their innate condition.

 

[makingmusic476]

My friend just developed a deathly allergy to berries. He's in his 30s. The hell.

 

[Chozoman]

People allergic to cold or to heat/sun.

Really? I've not heard that. Possible people are more aware due to wild fluctuations in weather.

 

[Somnid]

Really? I've not heard that

It's not an allergy but rather a photosensitivity that can cause extreme fatigue or rash, and common in autoimmune conditions, particularly Lupus.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Our immune system is dumb and mistakes certain proteins for disease.

And we keep reproducing, it isn't as likely to kill us any more.

We're beating biological evolution with wealth and knowledge and this lets us be more imperfect.

A lot of it is hypothesized to come from diet. There is a pretty strong link between the immune system and the intestines. Some have proposed the idea of a "leaky gut" where things like gluten in some people create permeability in the intestinal lining causing the partially processed food matter and bacteria to spill into the tissue and trigger immune response, and for those genetically prone to auto-immune awakens their innate condition.

Science hasn't agreed on any of this.

 

[Chozoman]

It's not an allergy but rather a photosensitivity that can cause extreme fatigue or rash, and common in autoimmune conditions, particularly Lupus.

Hmm. Interesting. Thanks for the info!

 

[Spacejaws]

I seen an interesting idea that over the last 30 years they significantly changed how bread is produced and some were theorizing there was a some kind of byproduct of that process maybe a bateria or somesuch that a lack of could be no longer conditioning our guts to handle gluten.

Honeslty I work on a cruise ship and we have many cultures onboard and the Americans are rife with gluten and dairy alergies it is insane. No one on the ship asks for as much dietry requirements as americans. Thats crew. Serving the passengers however they mark up all the dietry requirements beforehand like alergic to gluten and dairy then ask for a fucking ice cream apple pie. When approached they make up some bullshit about being a little bit alergic and we are like sorry you've said you can't have it we are not having you potentially die in our restaurant.

 

[Mr-Joker]

My friend just developed a deathly allergy to berries. He's in his 30s. The hell.

Allergies can just come and go, I used to be allergic to egg till I was 12 when my body was able to handle them.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I seen an interesting idea that over the last 30 years they significantly changed how bread is produced and some were theorizing there was a some kind of byproduct of that process maybe a bateria or somesuch that a lack of could be no longer conditioning our guts to handle gluten.

Yeah, gluten sensitivity isn't actually real.

Honeslty I work on a cruise ship and we have many cultures onboard and the Americans are rife with gluten and dairy alergies it is insane. No one on the ship asks for as much dietry requirements as americans. Thats crew. Serving the passengers however they mark up all the dietry requirements beforehand like alergic to gluten and dairy then ask for a fucking ice cream apple pie. When approached they make up some bullshit about being a little bit alergic and we are like sorry you've said you can't have it we are not having you potentially die in our restaurant.

Americans love to diagnose themselves with conditions they don't actually have.

 

[Neo C.]

Climate change already influences the environment. IIRC, some plants are more active and grow faster than before.

 

[gamechanger87]

Science hasn't agreed on any of this.

Science is coming around to the concept that certain allergies may be the result of the body not being exposed to it at an early age and thus the allergy develops. Self-fulfilling prophecy in which you are afraid your infant will have a peanut allergy, thus you keep all nuts away and thus the body develops said allergy.

The American Association of Pediatrics is now recommending that parents introduce peanuts to their children in the first 4 - 11 months to reduce the likelihood of peanut allergies.

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Joins-in-Interim-Guidance-on-Introduction-of-Peanuts-for-High-Risk-Infants.aspx

 

[chekhonte]

More BS allergies. More people who are isolated and miserable who are looking for solutions outside of themselves.

 

[gaiages]

Yeah, gluten sensitivity isn't actually real.



Americans love to diagnose themselves with conditions they don't actually have.

Gluten intolerances ARE real but yes, many people diagnose themselves with conditions they don't have. Celiac disease, like, actually exists and isn't made up but many people can say "I'm allergic to gluten" and not actually be tested by a doctor.

Additionally intolerances have different levels of severity. I'm lactose intolerant but I can generally eat things like cheese and sour cream just fine. Sometimes ice cream, depending.

 

[frankie_baby]

Its fashionable to have gluten allergy but like 90% of people that claim to have it dont at all

 

[Ruze789]

I've developed a coconut allergy (both ingesting and topical) and sun allergy in the last 4-5 years.

Both are pretty annoying as coconut was one of my favorite flavors, almost all shampoos use coconut extracts, and my job has me working outside for 3 out of 4 seasons.