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nutrition puzzling plates


What allergenic food do you believe will be the next big concern?


Too cautious? For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that when introducing solid foods to babies, parents avoid the “big eight” allergens— milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fi sh, shellfi sh, soy, and wheat—for at least the fi rst year. After that, the AAP suggested, parents should introduce these foods one at time, paying close attention for any adverse reactions. But in 2008, having tracked more


than a decade of rising reactions in kids, the AAP did a U-turn, advising parents to introduce allergenic foods as early as 5 months. Most recently, a 2013 paper in T e Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology states that starting allergenic foods at 4 to 6 months reduces the risk of developing a food allergy. Consult your physician for guidance.


Too clean? T e most research-backed theory to explain the food-allergies increase is the hygiene hypothesis, proposed in 1989. It asserts that our lifestyle has become too sanitized and that because we’re not exposing young children to enough germs, their immune systems aren’t trained to tell the diff erence between harmless and harmful agents. “T is really holds up when you look around the world and see that allergies are very uncommon in underdeveloped countries,” says Robert Wood, MD, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore.


Corrupted food supply? Other experts argue that the food itself is a concern. “If you’re going to address the issue from this Purell angle, you must also look at how foods are produced,” O’Brien says. “T e fact is we’re pouring chlorine on


WHAT YOU CAN DO


Elimination diet. If you suspect you or your child may have a food allergy, try an allergen food–free diet for at least two weeks and track differences in symptoms or mood. To learn how, go to deliciousliving.com and search for “elimination diet.”


Buy organic. By defi nition, USDA Organic–certifi ed foods are free of GMOs. Also look for products bearing the Non-GMO Project Verifi ed label.


Consider vitamin D. Although most data is preliminary, a 2013 study of 5,276 1-year-olds established an association between vitamin D insuffi ciency and food allergies. If you and your kids get limited sun exposure, ask your doctor about taking vitamin D supplements.


february 2014 | deliciousliving.com 49


GLUTEN 19%


NUTS 5%


DAIRY 5%


GMO 10%


OTHER 6%


NIGHT SHADES 2%


EGGS 2%


Source: Nutrition Business Journal


the animals we eat. What is that doing to our immune systems? We just don’t know.” Another unknown: genetically


modifi ed (GM) foods, which have been artifi cially injected with bacteria, viruses, and genes to promote specifi c traits, such as resistance to pests and herbicides. Because these foods are so pervasive, it’s practically impossible to conduct human trials on their eff ects. Although European animal studies have linked eating GM foods to allergenicity, this research has largely been dismissed in the United States because of concerns about study design, reporting, or analysis. Still, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the


dramatic increase in food allergies, which began in the 1990s, coincides with commercial GM-crop introduction in 1996. “Are we allergic to the food, or are we allergic to what we’ve done to it?” O’Brien asks. T e most common GM crops—corn, soy, canola, and sugar beets—are found in most packaged foods. And despite growing public awareness, GM ingredients remain unlabeled in the United States.


CORN 28%


SOY 23%


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