# Food Allergies--What has changed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2013, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071 "2013-10-01T06:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/21 "2013-10-02T17:05:48Z")
Yeah, I used to be one of the jerks who thought it was a ridiculous waste of money. And then I spent two months in a wheelchair. Sort of changed my tune. Although the braille dots on the ATM are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/22 "2013-10-02T17:55:44Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > My favourite peeve is the idiots who say they are 'allergic to (tobacco) smoke". No, they’re just being dicks because it’s now socially acceptable. Indeed, it is common to have a allergic reaction, like sneezing, eyes watering and such to tobacco or any other smoke. I have not heard of anaphylaxis from this allergy, but lower level reactions are common. Sure, when I was a kid, other kids had allergies. But other than one kid with a bee-sting allergy, none ever had the anaphylaxis reaction that is common today. There is a _link_ between kids who were fed a soy milk formula vs breast fed, kids on the soy are much more likely to have that severe peanut anaphylaxis reaction. This may be why we never saw it when I was a kid. Incidentally, in at least one study about peanut allergies, [http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa013536](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa013536) Only 23 out of 36 kids actually had a ‘real” allergy. So, a few are not real but more are very real and potentially deadly. Other studies have shown about 25% of kids will outgrow this sort of allergy. > **[The natural history of peanut allergy](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009167490148941X)** > > Background: It has traditionally been assumed that peanut allergy is rarely outgrown. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the number of… Another study sez _“Its apparently increasing prevalence may reflect a general increase of atopy, which is inherited more commonly from the mother”_ > **[Atopy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atopy)** > > Atopy is the tendency to produce an exaggerated immunoglobulin E (IgE) immune response to otherwise harmless substances in the environment. Allergic diseases are clinical manifestations of such inappropriate, atopic responses. > Atopy may have a hereditary component, although contact with the allergen or irritant must occur before the hypersensitivity reaction can develop (characteristically after re-exposure). Maternal psychological trauma in utero may also be a strong indicator for development o... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/23 "2013-10-02T17:58:12Z")
> [@dauerbach](#): > > Although the braille dots on the ATM are stupid. The Master Speaks: > **[Why is there braille on drive-up teller machines?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342105/why-is-there-braille-on-drive-up-teller-machines)** ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/24 "2013-10-02T18:54:11Z")
That NEJM article is a really good study. At least the part with food challenges to those with a history of peanut allergy. The correlation with cutaneous administration seems really lame. That questionnaire basically says do you have allergies? How about a history of sore skin? Guess they must be related. ---
**Author:** ![CLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@CLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CLee)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/25 "2013-10-02T19:10:18Z")
> [@dauerbach](#): > > Even the first exposure to poison ivy is free. Do you have cite for this? Urushiol is an irritant by design, unlike innocuous substances such as corn, wheat, and nuts. Wiki says that people _may_ not react to the first exposure “Since the skin reaction is an allergic one, people may develop progressively stronger reactions after repeated exposures, or show no immune response on their first exposure, but show sensitivity on following exposures.” [Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis) “…some people develop a rash after their very first exposure.” From here: [How Poison Ivy Works | HowStuffWorks](http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/poison-ivy.htm) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/26 "2013-10-02T19:26:46Z")
I read a few months ago that genetic modifications to wheat might account for some of the increased incidence of gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Wheat has more protein than it used to. If I remember correctly from the research, that protein helps fight off pests in the field. I can’t eat gluten any longer, but I’d honestly rather it were something in me than something changing in the wheat, because such genetic modifications are helpful for the rest of the planet. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/27 "2013-10-02T19:31:13Z")
No, actually they are both wrong. Urushiol is NOT a direct irritant. It is a very small molecule that acts as a hapten. > **[Hapten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapten)** > > Haptens (derived from the Greek haptein, meaning “to fasten”) are small molecules that elicit an immune response only when attached to a large carrier such as a protein; the carrier may be one that also does not elicit an immune response by itself. The mechanisms of absence of immune response may vary and involve complex immunological interactions, but can include absent or insufficient co-stimulatory signals from antigen-presenting cells. > Haptens have been used to study allergic contact dermati... Haptens bind to proteins and cause delayed hypersensitivity. Also, because it is a hapten you cannot test the blood for anti-urushiol antibody. There is no way to know if it is first exposure or not. Except if it is a first exposure you will not get a rash. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/28 "2013-10-02T19:32:38Z")
I am not seeing how more protein would have any effect on allergy. You only need minute exposure to an allergen. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/29 "2013-10-02T19:50:31Z")
> [@dauerbach](#): > > I am not seeing how more protein would have any effect on allergy. You only need minute exposure to an allergen. I’m no biologist. Here is the article and the study: [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/03/04/gluten-sensitivity-what-does-it-really-mean/](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/03/04/gluten-sensitivity-what-does-it-really-mean/) > **[Wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors drive intestinal inflammation via activation...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23209313/)** > > Ingestion of wheat, barley, or rye triggers small intestinal inflammation in patients with celiac disease. Specifically, the storage proteins of these cereals (gluten) elicit an adaptive Th1-mediated immune response in individuals carrying HLA-DQ2 or... ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/30 "2013-10-03T19:53:37Z")
Both good articles. I did not think that allergies really followed a dose/response curve, but it makes sense that ATI’s could have one. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071/31 "2013-10-03T20:36:37Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > My favourite peeve is the idiots who say they are 'allergic to (tobacco) smoke". No, they’re just being dicks because it’s now socially acceptable. I’ve never smoked, I detest the smell, when I was a kid everyone smoked and you were expected to put up with it… but nobody gets allergic to it. Symptoms of exposure to toxic substances in secondhand smoke [can be very much like those of allergy](http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/asthma/allergens/smoke/). In addition, secondhand smoke [exacerbates allergic problems and has been linked to asthma in children](http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=8&sub=17&cont=179) (as well as causing asthmatic attacks in adults). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-allergies-what-has-changed/670071.md?page=1)