Saving kids with food allergies… by feeding them allergens
Food allergies are on the rise, and we have very little idea why, or what to do about it. But immunologist and Stanford professor Kari Nadeau is pioneering a strategy of combating food allergies (particularly in children with multiple sensitivities) by giving them tiny amounts of the allergen, and gradually raising the dosage. This therapy is dangerous and experimental, given that an allergic reaction in these children could be fatal, but it seems to be successful as well.
One of the more popular theories about allergies, the "hygiene hypothesis," held that allergies came about because we live in a society that is too clean, and our bodies grow up unchallenged by germs. But the hygiene hypothesis has largely been discredited in recent years. It turns out that food allergies in children are on the rise worldwide, "from Rio de Janeiro to Shanghai, in Europe and Britain, across environments that have a range of sanitary conditions." Researchers have concluded that food allergies are "70 percent genetic in origin and 30 percent environmental."
In fact, quite the contrary seems to be true: The rise of food allergies seems to be tied to genetic damage and environmental pollution. One of the biggest risk factors for food allergies is having a parent or grandparent who smoked (and didn't everyone smoke, back in the 50s?). This runs second to living in an urban environment with a lot of pollution. Diet may play a part, too; eating a diet rich in hydrogenated oils during pregnancy is correlated with an increased likelihood of food allergies.
Most likely the root cause of food allergies (as with diabetes, asthma, autism, and other currently-mysterious modern ailments) will turn out to be a complex interaction between genetics, behavior, and environment. This is the forefront of the study of what's called "epigenetics," and it offers a lot of promise, if no clear or easy solutions.
Image courtesy of Flickr/Steven River