WEBVTT - How Many People Really Have Food Allergies?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren boke obam here. A lot of attention has

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<v Speaker 1>been given to the increasing number of American kids with

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<v Speaker 1>serious food allergies, now believed to be one in every

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen children, that's about eight percent. School cafeterias have largely

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<v Speaker 1>banned peanut butter, peanuts being one of the top triggers,

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<v Speaker 1>and saffy. Parents know to quiz sleepover guests on allergies

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<v Speaker 1>to other common foods like milk, eggs, and wheat. Childhood

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<v Speaker 1>food allergies are a big deal because a bad reaction

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<v Speaker 1>could lead to anaphylactic shock, which, if untreated by an

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<v Speaker 1>epinephrine shot, could be fatal. But kids and their parents

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<v Speaker 1>aren't the only ones who need to be educated about

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<v Speaker 1>food allergies and how to respond to a severe allergic reaction.

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<v Speaker 1>According to a new study, adults have it even worse.

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<v Speaker 1>More than ten percent of American adults now have one

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<v Speaker 1>or more food allergies, according to the largest in depth

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<v Speaker 1>survey of the prevalence of food allergies among adults. Of

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<v Speaker 1>the forty thousand adults surveyed, ten point eight percent were

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<v Speaker 1>determined to have a legitimate food allergy to things like shellfish, milk,

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<v Speaker 1>and peanuts. Of the top three allergies severe enough to

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<v Speaker 1>cause telltale symptoms of anaphylaxis like hives, swelling, throat tightening,

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<v Speaker 1>and trouble breathing, and nearly half of the allergies developed

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<v Speaker 1>as adults. What worries Dr Ruci Gupta, the lead author

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<v Speaker 1>of the study and a pediatrician and researcher who previously

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<v Speaker 1>focused on childhood food allergies, is not only the surprisingly

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<v Speaker 1>high prevalence of food allergies among adults, but the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that only half of the adult food allergies identified by

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<v Speaker 1>the survey had been diagnosed by a doctor. Even more alarming,

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<v Speaker 1>less than a quarter of adults with a bona fide

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<v Speaker 1>food allergy carried an epinephrine pen, the only way to

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<v Speaker 1>halt a deadly reaction. Clearly, more Americans need to take

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<v Speaker 1>food allergies seriously by talking with their doctors about avoiding

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<v Speaker 1>certain foods and having an emergency response plan in place.

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<v Speaker 1>But a second surprising finding that came out of gupta

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<v Speaker 1>study is that a separate and nearly equal cohort of

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<v Speaker 1>American adults believe they have legitimate food allergy but actually don't.

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<v Speaker 1>When asked if they were allergic to any foods, a

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<v Speaker 1>full nineteen percent of survey respondents said yes, but when

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<v Speaker 1>prompted to list the symptoms of their most severe reactions,

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<v Speaker 1>only ten point eight percent met the standards of a

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<v Speaker 1>convincing food allergy, like difficulties swallowing, chest tightening, or vomiting.

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<v Speaker 1>The rest of the respondent cited symptoms like diarrhea, belly pain,

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<v Speaker 1>and itching, which are signs of a food intolerance or

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<v Speaker 1>other conditions, but not a true allergy. The confusion stems

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<v Speaker 1>from a general misunderstanding of what is and is not

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<v Speaker 1>a food allergy. For example, many Americans, according to a survey,

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<v Speaker 1>believe that the only difference between a food allergy and

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<v Speaker 1>a food intolerance is the severity of the reaction, or

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<v Speaker 1>that people with food allergies can eat small amounts of

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<v Speaker 1>the offending food without triggering a reaction. A true food

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<v Speaker 1>allergy means that consuming any amount of the allergy, even

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<v Speaker 1>a tiny sip or crumb, will trigger the immediate and

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<v Speaker 1>overactive immune response known as anaphylaxis. The severity of the

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<v Speaker 1>reaction depends on the severity of the allergy. People with

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<v Speaker 1>a food intolerance on the other hand, can sometimes eat

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<v Speaker 1>or drink small amounts of the troublesome food without triggering

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<v Speaker 1>any symptoms, and even when the symptoms are at their worst,

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<v Speaker 1>they're usually confined to the gastro intestinal tract. Gupta doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>blame the nearly nine percent of Americans who falsely believe

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<v Speaker 1>that they have a food allergy. In addition to food intolerances, which,

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<v Speaker 1>to be fair, can make people feel absolutely lousy, there

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<v Speaker 1>are a host of other conditions with symptoms that overlap

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<v Speaker 1>with true food allergies. A common one is oral allergy syndrome,

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<v Speaker 1>in which certain fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts trigger an

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<v Speaker 1>itching sensation in the mouth and throat and swollen lips.

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<v Speaker 1>It looks like a food allergy, but the reaction is

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<v Speaker 1>actually triggered by common pollen allergies, and the symptoms go

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<v Speaker 1>away quickly. But if your throat burns and your lips

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<v Speaker 1>blow up like balloons every time you eat a peach,

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<v Speaker 1>you could be forgiven for thinking that you had a

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<v Speaker 1>food allergy. Celiac disease and autoimmune disorder and marked by

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<v Speaker 1>severe intolerance to gluten, is also not a true food allergy,

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<v Speaker 1>since the autoimmune response does not result in anaphylaxis. It

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<v Speaker 1>still sucks though. In the food Allergy survey, Gupta and

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<v Speaker 1>a panel of allergists were trying to be as conservative

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<v Speaker 1>as possible when deciding if a certain bundle of symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>qualified as an allergy, which means that their figure of

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent of adults with food allergies could be low.

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<v Speaker 1>The only way to know for sure would be to

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<v Speaker 1>test each and every person who reported a food allergy,

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<v Speaker 1>either through a skin prick test or the more dramatic

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<v Speaker 1>Food challenge, in which an individual ingests a potential allergy

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<v Speaker 1>in a doctor's office to gauge their immune response. But

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<v Speaker 1>with the sample size of forty that's not practical. Goop

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<v Speaker 1>to things that The key takeaway from the food Allergy

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<v Speaker 1>survey is the importance of talking to a doctor to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out if your specific set of food related symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>is a true allergy or something else, Gupta said, because

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<v Speaker 1>some of these conditions are treatable and some of them

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<v Speaker 1>are life threatening, it's important to know what you're dealing with,

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<v Speaker 1>and if it turns out that you don't have a

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<v Speaker 1>true food allergy, that's great news. Instead of anxiously avoiding

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<v Speaker 1>all contact was certain foods, you can take steps to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid a reaction. For example, oral allergy syndrome can often

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<v Speaker 1>be avoided by cooking the offending fruit or vegetable instead

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<v Speaker 1>of eating it raw. And people with lactose intolerance rather

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<v Speaker 1>than a true milk allergy, can enjoy lactose free dairy

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<v Speaker 1>products without giving up the pure joy of an ice

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<v Speaker 1>cream cone on a hot summer day. So if you've

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<v Speaker 1>experienced unpleasant reactions to certain foods, don't suffer in silence.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk to your doctor or make an appointment with an

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<v Speaker 1>allergist to get tested knowledge. After all his power, Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler

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<v Speaker 1>Clin for iHeart Media and how Stuff Works from Marandas

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other powerful topics. Visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com