health: Many people are allergic to these five foods

Allergies, including food allergies, are on the rise worldwide.

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PublishedJanuary 2, 2023, 11:00

food intolerances: Many people are allergic to these five foods

More and more people seem to no longer tolerate certain foods. We explain what is behind this development.

Do you have the impression that more and more people around you are complaining of a food allergy? According to the Federal Office for Food Safety, approximately two to eight percent of the Swiss population have a detectable food allergy. It is a defense reaction of the organism once morest vegetable or animal proteins. The most common triggers are nuts, chicken eggs, and cow’s milk protein.

According to the Swiss Allergy Center, young children most often develop food allergies, but often tolerate them once more as they get older. They also typically react to cow’s milk, chicken eggs or peanuts.

Peanuts are in the top five most common food allergies.

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What exactly is it?

The rise of allergies

According to the aha! Swiss Allergy Center, less than one percent of the population was affected by allergies in 1900. Today, a quarter to a third of the Swiss population suffer from allergies of any kind, including ‘food allergy.

The most common allergies

One of the reasons for this increase is our way of life. The Covid pandemic has revealed in particular that our defense system is not sufficiently challenged these days, which favors the development of allergies. At the same time, environmental pollution has increased – which also has a great influence.

Dietary habits also play a role: peanut allergies occur mainly in North America, while fish allergies are more common in Spain or Italy. But above all, allergies depend on the individual genetic predisposition. Children of allergic parents have up to an 80% chance of developing an allergy themselves.

Exotic fruits and sesame

“Nowadays we also have more exotic foods on the menu. Something new on the plate can trigger reactions. This explains, for example, allergies to kiwi, banana, curry, sesame or lupine”, we explain at the aha center! Swiss Allergy Center.

Allergies are also often discussed when the cause of a reaction is not known. Theories range from high hygiene, to vitamin D deficiency, to infants not being fed a sufficiently balanced diet.

The Swiss Allergy Center observes an increase in allergies to exotic fruits, such as kiwis.

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People living in wealthy countries who spend more time indoors have higher food allergy rates than people who spend more time outdoors, according to an article by “Vox”. And countries farther from the equator are also said to have higher allergy rates than those in the sunny center of the planet.

Allergies will accompany us in the future

The magazine “Santé suisse” writes: “Allergic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our country. Science proves that the frequency of allergies has increased dramatically in industrialized countries over the past few decades.” According to estimates by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), half of women and men in Europe will suffer from an allergy by 2025.