In plain words, food allergy is the immune system’s reaction to the proteins in the food. With each food intake, our immune system produces various chemicals to protect us from any health hazard.
Sometimes, the immune system mistakes some food components as harmful. In such cases, a defensive reaction against the food proteins occurs instead of the regular digestion process, causing what we know as a food allergy.
Food Allergy or Food Intolerance?
Sometimes, a person might experience sickness after consuming a particular food. Such a condition can also be a case of food intolerance rather than a food allergy.
The two terms are confused with each other at times.
Both are the food’s unacceptability states; however, food intolerance doesn’t cause severe medical conditions immediately. Unlike a food allergy, food intolerance causes mild health issues that can gradually grow severe if not medically addressed.
Common Allergy-Causing Foods
Over 150 foods are known for causing allergies. Although any food can cause a food allergy, here are a few of the most common foods that cause the majority of them:
‣ Nuts
‣ Milk
‣ Eggs
‣ Fish
Symptoms Common with Food Allergies
Food allergies can vary from just slight rashes to life-threatening situations. But the most commonly occurring allergic reactions are:
Itching or similar sensations, most likely inside the mouth, throat or ears.
‣ Swelling, mostly of the face or inside the mouth; on lips, tongue or roof of the mouth.
‣ Stuffy nose.
‣ Red rashes, which may be itchy.
‣ Vomiting, faintness or dizziness.
Why Are Food Allergies On The Rise?
Food allergies run in generations. Children inherit them. It is believed that a younger sibling might have the same food allergy as the elder one.
Cases of food allergies are common in children aging 3 to 4, whereas fewer cases are reported in adults. Although children tend to outgrow their food allergies, a rise is noticed in food allergies in recent years.
An article from NCBI (National Center for Biotechnological Information), database quotes:
“Despite a lack of data, many scientists believe that the number of people with food allergies is rising, as is the number of foods to which they are allergic. In the past, more often than not, children were only allergic to one or maybe two foods…, whereas now it’s very common to see children allergic to two or three or more foods.”
It attests that our ancestors were less prone to food allergies. With the number of cases spiking each year, this can gradually turn into a pandemic for future generations.
We cannot pinpoint the causes of the worldwide rise in food allergies. But let’s take a glance at a few factors that may very well be associated with our recent vulnerability to food allergies.
Lack of Seasonal Food Intake
The majority of the foods have a specific time in the year when they can be grown and then reaped. Any food in this time of the year when harvested and is made available to the public is seasonal food.
Consuming food in its season is vital for health because it is right out of the crop, fresh! The taste is flawless and nutrition is at the highest level.
The lack of taste, freshness and nutrition occur due to the food being off-seasonal.
Offseason foods are harvested earlier in the year, stored and packaged. The packages are shipped to the markets later on demand. In this whole period, the food loses its freshness, taste and nutrition.
Technology has affected the organic growth of fruits, grains and vegetables significantly. Various techniques are used to enhance crop growth and protect them. These methods disturb the nutrition of the plant.
Similarly, it isn’t possible to produce some vegetables over the whole span of the year without the use of technology. It is observed that nutrition levels in a fruit or vegetable are higher when left to ripen organically on the parent plant.
Till the 20th century, people ate what they could come by. While most of us savor whatever we want. As much as it is exciting, it has its downfalls.
Former people used to consume fresh seasonal foods. We prefer eating whatever we feel like, Off-seasonal organic foods in the best case and junk in the worst.
Off-seasonal foods affect not only us but also the animal food sources. In summer, the nutrition of cow’s milk is lesser than in winter due to less seasonal food availability to the animal in summers.
Diet Trends and the Calorie Games
Adopting low-fat or low-carb diets and keeping a check on calorie intake sometimes result in missing out on essential nutrition. Also, fewer calories can slow down our whole system and may result in many functions performing inefficiently.
There was no concept of fad diets or keeping an unnecessary check on calories earlier.
Our ancestors used to fulfill their food cravings and had healthy metabolisms by eating any available fresh food they wanted. The extra calories would burn by engaging in tough physical daily routines.
People on low-calorie diets are prone to constipation as well. Our forefathers stayed away from such digestion problems, by merely avoiding fad diets.
Socializing Less and Lack of Outdoor Activities
Our great grandparents didn’t have the option to spend time using gadgets, playing video games, surfing the internet, scrolling social media etc. The only option they had was to either socialize indoors or go outside.
And relatively, they spent a lot more of their time outdoors.
Socializing has a positive effect on mental and emotional health. In contrast, the opposite can cause high blood pressure and diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia directly associated with the brain.
We all know our brain is the CPU of the body. If it’s not functioning well, how do we expect other systems to run efficiently? As immunity is one of the significant functions, studies show that socializing has positive effects on the immune system.
A better immunity system doesn’t only mean better chances of fighting against diseases, virals, infections and allergies but also better health overall.
Eating Out More Often
Eating outside generally results in weight gain.
We are likely to eat more than required while eating out at restaurants. They are designed to sell you more than what you need. Also, baked, fried or roasted foods and taking flour in large quantities is injurious. It makes you prone to high blood pressure and diabetes, two of the prevalent diseases.
The closer the food is to its natural form, the healthier it is.
The reason is that processing and overcooking kill the nutrients of the food. While cooking at home, we’re the authority and we can choose any fresh vegetable, fruits or wholesome foods and prepare it any way desirable.
That’s what our great grandparents did and it was one of the reasons they enjoyed better health and avoided many medical complications that we face today.
The Blend of Food & Tech
A hundred and a few years back, the technologies to enhance and preserve food and crop life was not yet common. Hence, our forefathers had the opportunity to consume SUPER organic foods.
The use of chemicals, medicines and genetic science has exposed our nutrition source to toxins and other harmful substances. Researches have shown that the application of all such processes has become the reason for rising allergic reactions, ADHD cases and even the cancer ratio.
Few of the popular aids used for the enhancement of food are:
Pesticides: Pest repellants used for pest control to prevent cultivated plants and animals.
Food Preservatives: Chemical substances used to preserve and extend shelf-life.
Food Additives: Chemical substances used to enhance taste, add flavors and colors to the food.
GMOs: GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is an organism with a modified DNA by the application of genetic engineering. GMO seeds are abundantly used for grains, vegetables, and fruits for various purposes, enhancing the size of the food and multiplying the crops’ growth rate being the common ones.
Our forefathers had the luxury to enjoy organic, natural and fresh off the farm foods; thus, they steered clear of many adverse effects of the application of modern agricultural and technological enhancement and protection procedures.
Bone Broths, Organ and Whole Meat Discarded
Instead of bacon, hotdogs and steaks, our forefathers preferred to eat the whole animal; even the mineral-rich bones and organ meat were not discarded. Bones were used for making broths and soups, along with eating the organ meat.
Bones and especially organ meat possess medicinal properties and are richer in nutrients than muscle meat. We’re living in a time where white or lean meat is preferred over red or whole meat instead of organ meat.
The funny fact is that organ meat contains vitamins A, D, E, and K, known for their fat-soluble characteristics.
The fitness nuisance has given fat a reputation of a ghost that haunts us.
But have you ever thought if our body possesses fat, it must be for some purpose? Despite other key activities, fat performs a vital role in immunity functions. Rather than totally avoiding animal fat, we should maintain a balance of necessary fat burn and animal fat intake.
In this modern time, fast and junk foods have taken the food industry by storm. Even if people do get the chance to enjoy homemade meals, it mostly comprises processed meat and not the whole animal.
Consulting a Doctor Excessively
Mild fevers, strains, headaches, pains or a light cough didn’t convince our great grandparents to swing by a doctor’s. They instead took rest, had coffee, maybe tea or followed home remedies to feel better.
Doctors are there to diagnose a problem and prescribe medicine. That’s how the system works.
But often, what we go through doesn’t need to be imposed with supplements, drugs and injections. Understanding the root cause of a problem and addressing it calmly and rationally can surprisingly save us visits to a doctor.
Medicinal treatments for mild health issues can easily be avoided by just a few daily routine changes, exercises or home remedies.
Injecting, gulping and applying anti-biotic and pain killers every time we catch a fever, flu, get bearable blows, feel aches or just exhausted will relieve us in a jiff. However, it turns us into a disposable human addicted to artificial means of treatment in the longer run.
Our forefathers avoided this silly mistake and went for the more natural and organic options to cure themselves whenever they stumbled upon mild health issues.
CONCLUSION:
Many ideas mentioned in this article are arguable. To some, technology provides ease and essential solutions for the human race, while to others, it is adversely affecting and giving birth to novel problems.
Without a doubt, technology has served humanity. But still, it has its “pros” and “cons,” like any other existing phenomenon. It has provided us magical options to deal with many threats and consistent problems; it also causes harm in its own ways.
The only way might be to find a balance between sticking to the ol’ Mother Nature and utilizing modern technological means alongside. The closer to nature we remain, the better our health will be.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed countries are majorly affected by food allergies.
The reason is a rapidly growing addiction to effortlessness thanks to technological advancement, particularly in the food domain (frozen foods, fast and junk foods), medication and an increasing disconnection with natural means.
In comparison, the developing countries which are still en route to technological advancements are somewhat closer to the organic way of living; hence, the concept of food allergy being next to none.
