Why do the wealthy countries have more allergen issues?

why the wealth country have more allergen issues? This question came to my mind when I started my course in UK, I never thought allergen would be a such serious issue before, I never seen a allergen incident on the news paper before I came UK(2012), also in my undergraduate courses, allergen was not a issue need to pay attention. When I started my course the standards on allergen really suprised me or I can say the number of people got allergen issue suprised me. 

So has anyone got a idea why why wealth country have more allergen issues?  :headhurts:

I am guessing there are many causes and no ONE thing.

Perhaps the exposure to a wider variety of foods, both in ethnicity and food source, that cause wealthier countries to have a greater incidence. Maybe this exacerbates a weakness in the immune system. Maybe it is simply reporting.  If a lower income area has a sickness or a death due to allergens, maybe they just don't get reported.

I'd like to add about our OCD for cleanliness!

We are so reliant of cleaning chemicals that kill "99.9%" of germs that we no longer build up a natural immunity , not just to allergens, but to bacteria.

I also think that people term themselves "allergic" when actually they have an intolerance or sensitivity to an allergen, and one of the problems is that its not challenged, merely accepted.

We've become supersensitive to being caught out with allergen labelling, and to be honest, it truly amazes me how a manufacturer can "forget" to mention an allergen on packaging! If you look at the statistics for recalls across the globe due to allergen mislabelling, I think it would be fair to say that the UK / USA lead the way! Not a week goes by where something isn't being recalled in the UK due to an allergen. When you compare the recall figures to those is the Oceania countries I does make you question whether our lack of a scheme such as Vital has a part to play. The lack of limits for allergens in the UK is also worrying, especially for manufacturers who handle more than one allergen at their plant.

Some of the wealthier countries are also more reliant on ready or processed meals. And also meals that are not indigenous to their natural diet. I recently watched a programme regarding the best diet in the world. The presenters travelled the globe, and with the help of nutritionists established that the best diet was an Icelandic diet. But the diet of some of the African tribes also scored highly. The fast food diets of the western world didn't fare very highly, surprise, surprise! Also If you look at the incidents of Diabetes in the UK, the highest percentage of (likely) suffers is not the obese (although the number of sufferers may be greater) but are those of Asian / African origin because the western diet isn't indigenous to them!

It is (pardon the pun) food for thought, and it is interesting to see the figures from other countries regarding allergen incidents. Do many people in China have a Soya/ fish/ shellfish allergy as I would have though that these three ingredients would make up a substantial part of their diet?

Caz x

I am guessing there are many causes and no ONE thing.

 

Perhaps the exposure to a wider variety of foods, both in ethnicity and food source, that cause wealthier countries to have a greater incidence. Maybe this exacerbates a weakness in the immune system. Maybe it is simply reporting.  If a lower income area has a sickness or a death due to allergens, maybe they just don't get reported.

Thank you, I was thinking this maybe a interesting topic to dig. coz I met 0 allergen people during 24 years in China but only 2 years in UK I met more than 5 people got allergen issue.

I'd like to add about our OCD for cleanliness!

 

We are so reliant of cleaning chemicals that kill "99.9%" of germs that we no longer build up a natural immunity , not just to allergens, but to bacteria.

 

I also think that people term themselves "allergic" when actually they have an intolerance or sensitivity to an allergen, and one of the problems is that its not challenged, merely accepted.

 

We've become supersensitive to being caught out with allergen labelling, and to be honest, it truly amazes me how a manufacturer can "forget" to mention an allergen on packaging! If you look at the statistics for recalls across the globe due to allergen mislabelling, I think it would be fair to say that the UK / USA lead the way! Not a week goes by where something isn't being recalled in the UK due to an allergen. When you compare the recall figures to those is the Oceania countries I does make you question whether our lack of a scheme such as Vital has a part to play. The lack of limits for allergens in the UK is also worrying, especially for manufacturers who handle more than one allergen at their plant.

 

Some of the wealthier countries are also more reliant on ready or processed meals. And also meals that are not indigenous to their natural diet. I recently watched a programme regarding the best diet in the world. The presenters travelled the globe, and with the help of nutritionists established that the best diet was an Icelandic diet. But the diet of some of the African tribes also scored highly. The fast food diets of the western world didn't fare very highly, surprise, surprise! Also If you look at the incidents of Diabetes in the UK, the highest percentage of (likely) suffers is not the obese (although the number of sufferers may be greater) but are those of Asian / African origin because the western diet isn't indigenous to them!

 

It is (pardon the pun) food for thought, and it is interesting to see the figures from other countries regarding allergen incidents. Do many people in China have a Soya/ fish/ shellfish allergy as I would have though that these three ingredients would make up a substantial part of their diet?

 

Caz x

Thank you Caz, ur words just open my mind, :lol: . I thought to short before.

why the wealth country have more allergen issues? This question came to my mind when I started my course in UK, I never thought allergen would be a such serious issue before, I never seen a allergen incident on the news paper before I came UK(2012), also in my undergraduate courses, allergen was not a issue need to pay attention. When I started my course the standards on allergen really suprised me or I can say the number of people got allergen issue suprised me. 

 

So has anyone got a idea why why wealth country have more allergen issues?  :headhurts:

Many so-called wealthy countries(including the UK) from the mid 1980's started rapidly increasing the list of potential allergens that women should avoid whilst pregnant (as the theory at the time was that there was a direct link between this and the development of allergies in babies and children)- now pretty much discredited.

 

 

For every pregnant woman, doctors stress the importance of having a nutritious diet. Questions as to whether certain foods should be avoided due to the possibility of causing allergies once the child has been born continue to be investigated. However, avoiding potential food allergens in pregnancy has not been shown to reduce the risk of allergic disease in large, well-organised trials.    Allergy UK

It seems that unless there is a history of allergies in the family-the reverse may actually be true -and the rapid increase in allergies was actually caused by the restriction of certain food in the diet whilst pregnant/breastfeeding... caused by 'the list'

In any case the list is now much much smaller in the Uk at least-so I suppose only time will tell!

Kind Regards

Mike

It maybe depends on what you call wealthy countries.

But my guess is that one significant reason for "low" numbers is a difference in "reporting".

Rgds / Charles.C

IMO, it related to life style, GMO raw material, pollutant, chemical/non organic ingredients that lead to immune disorder syndrome (e.g. allergy). People lives in the village has low stress, lots of body exercise, natural environment, free of pollutant,  tend to have low incident of allergy compared to urban people

It maybe depends on what you call wealthy countries.

 

But my guess is that one significant reason for "low" numbers is a difference in "reporting".

 

Rgds / Charles.C

I was going to say that as well...

It could also be the amount of processed food that is eaten as well.  It would be interesting to see any study that could look at chemicals in processed food and it's ability to affect a fetus.  I have to wonder if there is a link there somewhere that they could be transmitted to a fetus and cause developmental issues or abnormalities.  The issue with that, of course, is that you don't know how it was going to develop in the first place so you don't know if it actually caused someone to become allergic to something.  All you could do study people with food allergies and see what the diets of their mothers were and diets of families with no history of it and you'll still only really have a good guess at it.

IMO, it related to life style, GMO raw material, pollutant, chemical/non organic ingredients that lead to immune disorder syndrome (e.g. allergy). People lives in the village has low stress, lots of body exercise, natural environment, free of pollutant,  tend to have low incident of allergy compared to urban people

I'm thinking GMO / Organic have nothing to do with it -the proteins are allergenic if it's organic or not. 

GM is actually beneficial to allergenic people -  people working on GM foods are trying to take the allergens out, making them less dangerous for people who have allergens.

http://www.eufic.org...allergy-relief/

http://www.wired.com...eanuts-with-le/

http://www.foodnavig...-safety-experts

I agree that it's reporting - I can see Americans rushing to be diagnosed after an upset stomach or chill, where as maybe in other countries you only go get diagnosed if you have severe allergic reactions?  I know a few "health nut" people who claim to have gluten allergies because the heard a gluten free diet makes you loose weight & that humans aren't supposed to eat gluten.  I can also see the avoiding common foods during pregnancy, and I've heard (from unrliable sources I can't remember, probably web surfing) that allergies happen to stuff you aren't normally exposed to.  So, mom never eats peanuts, kid never has peanuts, kid is 7 and he stumbles across peanuts, body freaks out, instead of kid has peanuts, bosy thinks it's normal. 

The current thinking in the immunology field is that being exposed to many different challenges (bacteria, viruses, molds, other proteins) in early childhood pushes our immune system down the path that leads to protective reactions to future materials.  Keeping children too "clean" pushed then down the path that leads to the aberrant responses to future materials, such as allergies.  Children in less developed areas are usually exposed to more illnesses and just plain dirt that stimulates more protective immune reactions, while children in more developed countries are kept more "sterile" and have a higher incidence of allergies.

I tihnk we're all pretty interested in what causes allergies to develop -

does the scientific community at large know?

I tihnk we're all pretty interested in what causes allergies to develop -

 

does the scientific community at large know?

I think half of the sufferer's have psychosomatic symptoms!

I tihnk we're all pretty interested in what causes allergies to develop -

 

does the scientific community at large know?

 There is a short answer and a much much longer one!

Here's the short one!

We have in our bodies T & B lymphocytes -whose job it is to 'patrol' our body and identify 'invaders'

In some individuals (inherited) -the lymphocytes don't do their job and wrongly identify certain proteins as invaders- the body goes into attack mode & generates antibodies to destroy the protein & surrounding cells which is fine if it is a genuine disease

 Now it starts to get complicated.....  but as part of the process some of the cells destroyed are mast cells/basophils which contain histamine-which is released into the body & causes the symptoms we know as anaphylaxis!

I have some research papers thta I can attach.... giving the long explanation................... (if you are interested!)

Kind Regards

Mike

I think half of the sufferer's have psychosomatic symptoms!

I'm not sure if this was a joke or not.  My food allergy definitely isn't and luckily it's something I can just avoid like the plague.  I actually found out when I was a kid by eating shrimp at a family party with my dad's shrimp sauce he used to make.  Within a few moments I couldn't feel my mouth or my throat.  About an hour later I could feel them again and I didn't know if it was the shrimp or the sauce so what's a kid to do?  I ate another shrimp without the sauce and had the same reaction so I just didn't eat any more.  Of course I didn't tell anyone lol now knowing more about it if my reaction was just slightly worse I wouldn't be a quality manager today... or alive.  I have accidentally eaten it twice after that event but now I know how to tell immediately because of the tingling sensation I'll feel in my mouth before everything starts to go numb.  Hey at least I can still breath when it happens (so far).

 There is a short answer and a much much longer one!

 

Here's the short one!

 

We have in our bodies T & B lymphocytes -whose job it is to 'patrol' our body and identify 'invaders'

 

In some individuals (inherited) -the lymphocytes don't do their job and wrongly identify certain proteins as invaders- the body goes into attack mode & generates antibodies to destroy the protein & surrounding cells which is fine if it is a genuine disease

 

 Now it starts to get complicated.....  but as part of the process some of the cells destroyed are mast cells/basophils which contain histamine-which is released into the body & causes the symptoms we know as anaphylaxis!

 

 

I have some research papers thta I can attach.... giving the long explanation................... (if you are interested!)

 

Kind Regards

 

Mike

Always love a long explanation lol.  If you want to attach them feel free I'm sure some people would love to read it.

I'm not sure if this was a joke or not.  My food allergy definitely isn't and luckily it's something I can just avoid like the plague.  I actually found out when I was a kid by eating shrimp at a family party with my dad's shrimp sauce he used to make.  Within a few moments I couldn't feel my mouth or my throat.  About an hour later I could feel them again and I didn't know if it was the shrimp or the sauce so what's a kid to do?  I ate another shrimp without the sauce and had the same reaction so I just didn't eat any more.  Of course I didn't tell anyone lol now knowing more about it if my reaction was just slightly worse I wouldn't be a quality manager today... or alive.  I have accidentally eaten it twice after that event but now I know how to tell immediately because of the tingling sensation I'll feel in my mouth before everything starts to go numb.  Hey at least I can still breath when it happens (so far).

 

 

Always love a long explanation lol.  If you want to attach them feel free I'm sure some people would love to read it.

I'm not sure if this was a joke or not.  My food allergy definitely isn't and luckily it's something I can just avoid like the plague.  I actually found out when I was a kid by eating shrimp at a family party with my dad's shrimp sauce he used to make.  Within a few moments I couldn't feel my mouth or my throat.  About an hour later I could feel them again and I didn't know if it was the shrimp or the sauce so what's a kid to do?  I ate another shrimp without the sauce and had the same reaction so I just didn't eat any more.  Of course I didn't tell anyone lol now knowing more about it if my reaction was just slightly worse I wouldn't be a quality manager today... or alive.  I have accidentally eaten it twice after that event but now I know how to tell immediately because of the tingling sensation I'll feel in my mouth before everything starts to go numb.  Hey at least I can still breath when it happens (so far).

 

 

Always love a long explanation lol.  If you want to attach them feel free I'm sure some people would love to read it.

Ok-  but don't blame me if you fall asleep reading it....!! Ha ha ............here is one of the nicest 'long-ish explanations' of acquired immunity ...the largely defunct (in the western world at least!) antibody IgE (which historically killed parasites we no longer have) is the culprit for releasing histamine & therefore causing anaphyllaxis

Mike

Your link brought me back to this thread.

Your link brought me back to this thread.

oops -not sure how that happened ....... now fixed (hopefully!)

Mike

oops -not sure how that happened ....... now fixed (hopefully!)

 

Mike

Yup it's fixed.  It's not that long I was expecting some 20 page scientific dissertation on the subject lol.  I'll read over it when I have time I read the first paragraph so far.

It's not that long I was expecting some 20 page scientific dissertation on the subject lol. 

 sincere apologies - lol- ........ that's also easy to fix!!!!! .....this one is guaranteed to make your brain explode (I've never got past the summary on this one!)

Mike

It maybe depends on what you call wealthy countries.

 

But my guess is that one significant reason for "low" numbers is a difference in "reporting".

 

Rgds / Charles.C

I would agree with this thought.  In poorer countries where medical care is limited to non-existent and food of any kind precious, are the resources there to monitor or know what the allergen rate is it?  Even in the so called "wealthy" countries, there is a lot of hunger and many will eat what they can get even if there is some risk as not all allergies are life threatening, some are just annoying. 

I had remembered reading this post and I had thought the same as all of you, "We're more likely to report because we're more aware". I had to post this after reading this article. Food for thought.

By Gabe Noble

Giovanni Cipriano was an ordinary 14-year-old high school freshman who had a passion for baseball and had just made the honor roll. One quiet night, as he snacked on trail mix and watched a movie with his mother, his throat began to incessantly itch. Unbeknown to Giovanni and his mother, there were peanuts in the mix, which he had been allergic to since he was 18 months old. His mother gave him a double dose of Benadryl and frantically rushed to the hospital.

"I took his hand and I said, 'Don’t worry, we’re here.' And when I grabbed his hand, he was cold and his body was blue," Giovanni’s mother, Georgina, said. The anaphylactic reaction led to a coma, and he died several weeks later.

Giovanni was one of the 6 million children in the United States who suffer from food allergies, an alarming number that has nearly tripled in the past two decades. Dr. Martin Blaser, a microbiologist and professor at New York University, is working tirelessly on groundbreaking research into this dramatic spike in food allergies. His hypothesis is that exposure to antibiotics early in life is diminishing positive gut bacteria and thus weakening children's immune systems, making them more susceptible to allergies. Blaser warns parents: "Antibiotics are not free, they do have a cost. And it is not just monetary but in the development of the immunity in children."

Blaser’s theory has been tested on young mice. They were fed a strong dose of antibiotics, and soon after their immune system changed and they developed a peanut allergy. They were then given the missing positive bacteria, and the results were astounding: The allergy was gone!

While his research is still a work in progress, the results so far are positive and could potentially lead to a cure for food allergies.

So wealthy countries administer more antibiotics therefore more allergen issues?????

Most likely there are many factors here.

Further to my previous posts on immune response and allergies- it seems that there has been a bit of research around links between parasites in humans and allergies

 

 

The researchers found that villagers with more fertile parasites had lower levels of allergy-related antibodies in their blood, suggesting the hookworms had found a way to nerf their hosts' immune responses. Since allergic response is tied to the body's immune system, it stood to reason that the absence of autoimmune disorders like asthma and hay fever could be attributed to the hookworms; the parasite's survival response was actually benefitting its host, in one of the most roundabout ways imaginable.

further info here

So maybe one of the reasons  people in poorer countries have less allergies because they have more parasites?

Mike

Geez that's sad...dying from parasites or from allergies.  Terrible choice.