Food allergy risk over-estimated ?

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

Here's an article from the BBC web site today on a British study indicating

that, though various food " intolerances " are fairly common

(i.e. " triggers " ?), actual food allergies that involve the immune response

are rather rare:

Food Allergy Risk Over-estimated

Millions of people mistakenly believe they are allergic to some types of

food. Researchers have found that one in three people believe they have a

true food allergy - but less than 2% actually do.More people are

self-diagnosing that they, or indeed their children have a food allergy,

and are eliminating certain food types from their diet

The findings, from market analyst Datamonitor, suggest that many people are

avoiding certain types of food unnecessarily, possibly depriving themselves

of valuable nutrients in the process.The researchers say that part of the

problem is people are diagnosing themselves without ever seeing their

doctor. Even when medical advise is sought, the current tests are subjective

and not particularly accurate.

A lack of certified allergists and the closure of allergy clinics is

compounding the problem. They also warn that people who are accurately

diagnosed face the twin problems of inadequate food labelling and a lack

of effective drugs to treat the condition.

The researchers say many people think they are suffering from a food

allergy, when what they actually have is a food intolerance.

A true food allergy is an abnormal response to a food that is triggered by

the immune system. In its most extreme form this leads to potentially

life-threatening anaphylactic shock which requires emergency treatment

with the hormone adrenaline.

A food intolerance does not trigger a life-threatening immunological

response, but can produce symptoms such as asthma, eczema or migraines.

The most common triggers for true food allergies are peanuts, milk and

seafood. Datamonitor estimates that up to 30% of allergic reactions occur

after a patient has eaten food that has not been properly labelled.

It says food labelling laws must be enforced more strongly.

Allergies can be triggered by as little as 1/1,000th of a peanut.

The allergy rate among children is slightly higher than it is among adults.

However, a far greater percentage of children are misdiagnosed as having a

food allergy. In addition, research shows that most children will outgrow

their allergies.Silvia Anton, Healthcare Analyst at Datamonitor said: " As

society continues to become more health conscious, more and more people are

self-diagnosing that they, or indeed their children have a food allergy, and

are eliminating certain food types from their diet.

" Future research much focus on developing more accurate diagnostic tests so

that those with a 'true' food allergy can be effectively identified, and in

educating doctors in spotting the symptoms of food allergies " .

Muriel , chief executive of the British Allergy Foundation, agreed

with the analysis that food intolerance was confused with food allergy.

But she told BBC News Online that it was not necessarily a bad thing if

people stopped eating food that did not agree with them - even if it was

simply an intolerance, rather than an allergy. She said: " Nobody is going

to cut something out of their diet without a reason, and if the body does

not like something it is better to avoid it. "

Cheers

Chris