Can you believe that approximately 5.9 MILLION children in the US today have food allergies? That’s more than a 400% increase in the last 20 years! Unfortunately, the true underlying cause of this incredible increase remains a mystery within the medical community.
One theory connects the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into our food system to the dramatic increase of food allergies in our children. It all began in 1996, when genetically modified soy started to appear in our foods, which lead to a 50% increase in soy allergies after one year, and a doubling of peanut allergies over the next 6 years. Interesting, right?
But remember, just because two events are correlated it does not necessarily mean that one caused the other. That is why medical research studies like randomized control trials (the gold-standard in study design) are conducted. To prove causation.
LET'S PROVE IT!
Unfortunately there are very few, if any, independent scientific studies published in peer-reviewed journals linking GMOs to food allergies. Why is that? Because the seed companies that produce the GMO seeds along with the FDA have made it virtually impossible to independently verify that GMO crops are safe, or have no harmful side effects. (But that is a political discussion that we can tackle in another article!)
The types of studies that we really need are those that compare the prevalence of allergies in kids that eat a conventional, processed diet, to those that eat an organic, unprocessed, GMO-free diet. Or a study that analyzes the skin allergy response to GM soy verses non-GM soy. Perhaps a study about the long-term health outcomes of children whose mothers consumed a GMO-free diet during pregnancy vs. children whose mothers consumed a conventional diet would be helpful.
However none of those studies exist. Instead we are forced to look solely at the correlation between the two, and wonder what the true impact really is of GMOs on food allergies in children.
GMOS, PROCESSED FOODS, AND ALLERGIES
More than 75% of processed food on our grocery store shelves today contain at least one genetically modified ingredient. The top culprits are sugar beets (95% of sugar beets are GM), soy (94% is GM), canola (90% is GM) and corn (88% is GM). Lets take a closer look at soy, and see how it connects to food allergies.
Fact #1: After a soy plant has been genetically modified, it includes a soy allergen. This allergen is 41% identical to the same allergen found in the peanut plant.
Fact #2: By the age of three, the majority of US children have been exposed to a great deal of GM soy. They are exposed in utero through mom’s diet, through breast milk (again via mom’s diet), by drinking conventional soy formula, and through the plethora of kid-friendly processed food snacks that contain GM soy.
Fact #3: Our immune system is closely connected to our digestive tract. This is especially true in children. So what we eat can really impact our overall health and our body’s ability to fight off disease. Foods that contain harmful additives, pesticides, and GMOs will essentially break down the digestive tract and increase the likelihood of autoimmune disorders like allergies.
Fact #4: Children are 3-4 times more likely to develop a food allergy than an adult because of their immature digestive and immune systems.
So putting this all together, the allergen found in GM soy is closely related to the allergen found in peanuts. Children are often inundated with GM soy starting before they are even born. Their immature digestive system starts to break down, which subsequently affects their immune system, and a peanut (or soy) allergy develops.
Makes sense, doesn’t it? Unfortunately for 5.9 million children in the US with food allergies, we just can’t prove it.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO DECREASE YOUR FAMILY’S RISK
- Decrease your consumption of processed foods.
- When grocery shopping, try to buy as many single ingredient foods as you can (for example, brown rice instead of flavored Rice-a-Roni).
- Eliminate GMOs from your diet, especially soy, canola, and corn based ingredients (check out the non-GMO Shopping Guide).
- Purchase local meat from farmers that don’t use unnecessary antibiotics or GMO feed.
- Use only rBGH-free dairy products (Not just milk - also cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc.).
- Buy organic eggs.
- Ask your pediatrician about starting a probiotic (remember, a healthy digestive system = healthy immune system).
Kook.
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