How Many People Really Have Food Allergies?

There's a lot of confusion over food allergies, intolerances, and other disorders with similar symptoms. So how can you tell the difference, and how many of us should be concerned? Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey brain
Stuff Lauren boke obam here. A lot of attention has
been given to the increasing number of American kids with
serious food allergies, now believed to be one in every
thirteen children, that's about eight percent. School cafeterias have largely
banned peanut butter, peanuts being one of the top triggers,
and saffy. Parents know to quiz sleepover guests on allergies

(00:24):
to other common foods like milk, eggs, and wheat. Childhood
food allergies are a big deal because a bad reaction
could lead to anaphylactic shock, which, if untreated by an
epinephrine shot, could be fatal. But kids and their parents
aren't the only ones who need to be educated about
food allergies and how to respond to a severe allergic reaction.
According to a new study, adults have it even worse.

(00:48):
More than ten percent of American adults now have one
or more food allergies, according to the largest in depth
survey of the prevalence of food allergies among adults. Of
the forty thousand adults surveyed, ten point eight percent were
determined to have a legitimate food allergy to things like shellfish, milk,
and peanuts. Of the top three allergies severe enough to
cause telltale symptoms of anaphylaxis like hives, swelling, throat tightening,

(01:12):
and trouble breathing, and nearly half of the allergies developed
as adults. What worries Dr Ruci Gupta, the lead author
of the study and a pediatrician and researcher who previously
focused on childhood food allergies, is not only the surprisingly
high prevalence of food allergies among adults, but the fact
that only half of the adult food allergies identified by

(01:32):
the survey had been diagnosed by a doctor. Even more alarming,
less than a quarter of adults with a bona fide
food allergy carried an epinephrine pen, the only way to
halt a deadly reaction. Clearly, more Americans need to take
food allergies seriously by talking with their doctors about avoiding
certain foods and having an emergency response plan in place.

(01:52):
But a second surprising finding that came out of gupta
study is that a separate and nearly equal cohort of
American adults believe they have legitimate food allergy but actually don't.
When asked if they were allergic to any foods, a
full nineteen percent of survey respondents said yes, but when
prompted to list the symptoms of their most severe reactions,
only ten point eight percent met the standards of a

(02:14):
convincing food allergy, like difficulties swallowing, chest tightening, or vomiting.
The rest of the respondent cited symptoms like diarrhea, belly pain,
and itching, which are signs of a food intolerance or
other conditions, but not a true allergy. The confusion stems
from a general misunderstanding of what is and is not
a food allergy. For example, many Americans, according to a survey,

(02:39):
believe that the only difference between a food allergy and
a food intolerance is the severity of the reaction, or
that people with food allergies can eat small amounts of
the offending food without triggering a reaction. A true food
allergy means that consuming any amount of the allergy, even
a tiny sip or crumb, will trigger the immediate and
overactive immune response known as anaphylaxis. The severity of the

(03:01):
reaction depends on the severity of the allergy. People with
a food intolerance on the other hand, can sometimes eat
or drink small amounts of the troublesome food without triggering
any symptoms, and even when the symptoms are at their worst,
they're usually confined to the gastro intestinal tract. Gupta doesn't
blame the nearly nine percent of Americans who falsely believe
that they have a food allergy. In addition to food intolerances, which,

(03:22):
to be fair, can make people feel absolutely lousy, there
are a host of other conditions with symptoms that overlap
with true food allergies. A common one is oral allergy syndrome,
in which certain fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts trigger an
itching sensation in the mouth and throat and swollen lips.
It looks like a food allergy, but the reaction is
actually triggered by common pollen allergies, and the symptoms go

(03:45):
away quickly. But if your throat burns and your lips
blow up like balloons every time you eat a peach,
you could be forgiven for thinking that you had a
food allergy. Celiac disease and autoimmune disorder and marked by
severe intolerance to gluten, is also not a true food allergy,
since the autoimmune response does not result in anaphylaxis. It
still sucks though. In the food Allergy survey, Gupta and

(04:07):
a panel of allergists were trying to be as conservative
as possible when deciding if a certain bundle of symptoms
qualified as an allergy, which means that their figure of
ten percent of adults with food allergies could be low.
The only way to know for sure would be to
test each and every person who reported a food allergy,
either through a skin prick test or the more dramatic
Food challenge, in which an individual ingests a potential allergy

(04:29):
in a doctor's office to gauge their immune response. But
with the sample size of forty that's not practical. Goop
to things that The key takeaway from the food Allergy
survey is the importance of talking to a doctor to
figure out if your specific set of food related symptoms
is a true allergy or something else, Gupta said, because
some of these conditions are treatable and some of them

(04:50):
are life threatening, it's important to know what you're dealing with,
and if it turns out that you don't have a
true food allergy, that's great news. Instead of anxiously avoiding
all contact was certain foods, you can take steps to
avoid a reaction. For example, oral allergy syndrome can often
be avoided by cooking the offending fruit or vegetable instead
of eating it raw. And people with lactose intolerance rather

(05:11):
than a true milk allergy, can enjoy lactose free dairy
products without giving up the pure joy of an ice
cream cone on a hot summer day. So if you've
experienced unpleasant reactions to certain foods, don't suffer in silence.
Talk to your doctor or make an appointment with an
allergist to get tested knowledge. After all his power, Today's

(05:33):
episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler
Clin for iHeart Media and how Stuff Works from Marandas
and lots of other powerful topics. Visit our home planet,
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