In hindsight, I’ll admit to being glad my lads were raised on a farm (with pets as per other readings), were outside with us quite a bit in our activities at home and traveling, and we introduced them to oodles of different foods from a very young age. We had no idea at the time that these things could have health benefits. It was all just doing what Creeklanders do.
Also per other readings on allergies, I’m glad I’m not naturally a “super clean” person and we let them go places with other kids where they happened to pick up colds fairly often (as annoying as that was at the time), because I’ve seen speculation those help the immune system too.
Who knows for sure, but it’s definitely an interesting article for discussion with my high school kids at school when it fits in to the curriculum. They’re young and “pre-kid” so could consider it all looking forward rather than back.
I think another issue is the shear volume of stuff in all our foods today. I am allergic to some spice that makes my lips swell when I eat it. Can’t pin it down because whenever I consume food with the spice the labels reads “and other spices.” Not a big enough deal to go through allergy tests for.
My daughter also has a food allergy we can’t seem to track down (again has not been severe enough to warrant the time and expense of testing.) It is some kind of food preservative/additive which is in most Campbell’s soups (sometimes in other soups - even “restaurant made” soups), occasionally in cured meats (once in a naturally cured bacon), always in spirals hams, and sometimes in Asian food. I have ruled out MSG, because she has gotten a rash consuming food which is supposed to be MSG-free (like the Campbell’s soups).
There are some Netflix documentaries about Food called Rotten that are well worth watching. I’ve watched the three covering honey, garlic, and food allergies. The food allergy one is called The Peanut Problem and it’s quite interesting.
If I’m ever in Boston, I’m going to make sure to visit the Blue Dragon restaurant, even though I have no food allergies myself. That chef is quite dedicated to transparent ingredients and food allergy sensitivity.
I heard years ago from our allergist that there is a correlation between babies and toddlers having eczema and the later development of food allergies. Sure enough, that was our experience with two of our daughters and the one with the worse case of eczema developed more food allergies. These were very minor cases of eczema too! Now, you can give your child a drug at that time that can help prevent food allergies later. As much as I would hate giving drugs to a baby, my daughters today would say 100% that that would be the right thing to do.
IDK - we had a dog when the kids were little , my housekeeping isn’t immaculate, we let the kids run around at places, etc. and S was one of those kids with lots of food allergies. He had terrible eczema as an infant but the pediatricians office blew me off “ it’s just dry skin” as an overprotective mom ( which I was not). We moved when he was 2 and the new pediatrician called it right away.
Not sure what I could have done differently with what I knew at the time.
The article mentions that exposing babies to peanuts before 6 months of age is helpful but if they have severe eczema then they should be skin tested first.
No food allergies here, just nasal/seasonal allergies, even though I grew up wild on the farm playing in the weeds, the barn, the creek, and the dirt all the time. Certainly was exposed to everything but I guess I didn’t get immunity! Oh well, it’s nothing $3/bottle generic Zyrtec can’t handle (usually).
I’ve tried spoonfuls of local honey a few times for the supposed natural exposure. Once I had the worst episode after having some- almost constant sneezing for 6 hours. So I haven’t tried it again.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that no single thing/activity is going to be the magic answer for all humans. We’re looking at bettering odds, and not so much for ourselves since I think most of us are past the rearing young youngsters age, but for the next generation. I know the high school kids I work with are at the prime age to be open to learning new things as they’re discovered (recognizing that science advances as more is learned, so look at studies carefully). Even then we make it clear it’s not a checklist/rulebook/vending machine (do this, get that). Nonetheless, it’s pretty awesome when I see many in the younger generation (not all) changing their lives (less smoking, better diet, etc) to be more concerned about both their health and the planet.
I never look down upon those who didn’t know. Most folks from the older generation smoked - many advised to do so by doctors who thought it was “good for their health.” Once they’ve started it’s very tough to quit. Some students share that it’s tough to quit for them because their families encourage smoking and they know they have a nicotine addiction. I, myself, love a good sugary soda at times even though I know it does nothing for my health.
They’re all really good starting points for looking at health/body issues in depth. At least when one has knowledge they have the opportunity to make educated decisions, including many aspects from real life.
Now I’m wondering what it is about eczema that makes one prone to allergies… might have to do more google research soon.
I don’t think the eczema makes one more prone to allergies, I think both eczema and allergies are symptoms of the same underlying issue - overactive immune response. Not causation, correlation.
@greenwitch The owner/chef of Blue Dragon is Ming Tsai, who is on the PBS cooking show Simply Ming. He has also been on Iron Chef. I believe his son’s food allergies were what got him to focus on this in his restaurant. I have eaten at Blue Dragon—the food was good. It’s small plates—he calls it an Asian gastropub.
I had my own little experiment going, though didn’t know it at the time. One identical twin was given a bit of peanut butter on a cracker, at 11 1/2 months of age and ended up in the ER. She has been peanut allergic since, though not in the most severe form, it still could be fatal. Her sister then had no nuts or nut products until age 4 and has no food or environmental allergies. As my allergies are severe, I tried to do everything allergy avoidant according to the advice of the era. Complete breast feeding first 6 months, no dairy in their diets till one year of age and careful introduction of new foods. I was two weeks early on the first bite of peanut butter. I doubt the additional two weeks of waiting would have changed her reaction. Peanut allergic D has many allergies and really suffers with them, though peanuts are her only food allergy. Her sister, nothing.
Had I followed the current advice and introduced peanuts earlier, both might have had the peanut allergy. Or not.
Sometimes I wonder how much of it is due to what are food IS these days and how it is different from the past whether GMO modified, different strains/seeds, etc.
For example, I’ve read interesting articles on a resurgence of ancient, heritage grains for baking bread because even those with celiac disease can eat a lot of it.
@“great lakes mom” - I’m sorry one of your twins became food allergic but that’s a fascinating story. You should share it with some researchers since identical twins are so valuable for eliminating variables.
It’s super amazing to me at how much what’s common varies and definitely alludes to either genetics or environmental factors for the specifics (vs just being human). I look forward to seeing the results of more research as to why/how it all happens. Finding the type of cell involved ought to help speed things up:
Eczema is itself an allergic condition. It’s not the cause of other allergies, although people who have eczema are prone to other allergies. My son had horrible eczema during infancy, then developed allergies to eggs, milk, and peanuts. Feeding him during his early years was a challenge. He eventually outgrew the egg and milk protein allergies (still is lactose intolerant, but that’s a common condition for adults), but not the peanut allergy.
He also has some Type III skin allergies to certain metals (had to get nickel-free braces), chromium, and a lot of ingredients used in perfumes and soaps.He insists on washing with Old Spice body wash, but takes Zyrtec to control the itching.
It’s worth noting that part of the reason for the increase is that more children survive childhood reactions with the introduction of the epipen a generation ago.
It’s also worth noting that people WAY overreport food allergies.
I’ve had bad allergies my whole life just like my sister and father. We all grew up in very different environments.
I was outdoors constantly as a kid, only really coming inside to eat during the summers. We had lots of pets and definitely not a super sterile house.
Ironically, since getting sick and starting immune suppression treatments, my allergies have been the least problematic they’ve ever been.
“For example, I’ve read interesting articles on a resurgence of ancient, heritage grains for baking bread because even those with celiac disease can eat a lot of it.”
What a crock. There are grains that have no gluten proteins that trigger Celiac. However, for a true Celiac sufferers, any amount of gluten is not OK. Even cutting a gluten-free bread with a knife that was used to cut regular bread can trigger a bad reaction. Those who claim they can eat a lot of gluten if it comes from a certain grain most likely do not have Celiac.