The Convenience Economy & Food Allergies — Is There Any Correlation?

Could our consumption of processed foods over the last 70 years, have anything to do with the current food allergy epidemic?

Although the advent of processed foods truly began in the 1950’s, after World War II, they were still permeating their way into American households at an increasing rate throughout the 80’s and 90’s. As a child growing up in the 90’s, I can vouch for its prevalence with words like: Hi-C juice boxes, Frito’s and Little Debbie Snacks. And that’s just in the context of school lunches!

Convenience foods became a major appeal to women in the 1950’s (and how can you blame them?!), who up until that time had spent much of their time in the kitchen preparing meals without the use of many of the aids we rely on today (think blenders, dishwashers, electric range!). The fact alone that refrigerators now included built-in freezers was a total game changer!

To further catapult the consumption of processed foods, many homes now had a TV, which created the perfect medium for advertisers to reach women, promising “freedom from drudgery” through “Atomic Age technology to create the ideal home.” According to WomensHistory.org:

“Processed foods, easily and quickly assembled into meals using electric appliances, became standard fare. Grocery bills went up as women happily purchased more and more convenience foods. Food company marketing materials assured women that their products were both high quality and healthy. And products like Tupperware, Saran Wrap, and GE refrigerators encouraged saving and repurposing leftovers, claiming that the savings off-set the higher price of processed, packaged food.”

As the USDA states, “Although these convenience foods save time, they tend to have lower nutritional values.” A concerning statement considering that “nearly 60% of the calories consumed in the modern, American diet come from processed foods,” according to a 2016 study by WomensHistory.org.

I was completely surprised and caught off guard when my son was diagnosed with not just one, but three different food allergies at 11-months-old. At the time, I didn’t even know anyone else who had food allergies (and this was only 7 years ago). But once I started looking at the statistics, I started to understand why food allergies were something I had never heard of growing up in the 90’s:

“The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports that the prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011,” per FoodAllergy.org.

Today, 1 in 10 adults; and 1 in 13 children throughout the United States have a food allergy. You yourself, probably know at least one middle-aged adult who has developed what is referred to as “adult-onset food allergies,” and not just to one allergen but a laundry list of them!

So, I’m here to ask the question — Could our consumption of processed foods the last 70 years, have anything to do with the current food allergy epidemic?

According to HealthLine.com, researchers have a couple of theories, and “people’s love of processed foods — might be one reason for the stark increase in — and severity of — food allergies in the past few decades.”

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Naples Federico II found that among a group of children ages 6 to 12, “kids who had food allergies had higher levels of a compound associated with highly processed “junk” foods under their skin than kids with respiratory allergies or no allergies.” Advanced glycation end-products, or AGEs “are proteins or fats found in foods that react with sugars to become glycated,” according to News-Medical.net.

“They are therefore abundant in processed foods that are packed with sugar and fat like bacon, cake, pizza and burgers. Microwaved foods, as well as barbecued or roasted meat, are also high in AGEs.”

Although the increase in processed, or “junk food” is just one theory for the increase in food allergy diagnoses, there are many other factors to consider, such as:

• Delayed introduction of highly allergenic foods: Peanuts and eggs, for example.
• Climate change: The way crops grow due to shifts in temperatures may make them more immunogenic, therefore provoking the immune system.
• Genes and environment: Including not only genetic makeup but in utero maternal exposures to allergens via prenatal maternal diet, pollution and chemicals.

According to Dr. Douglas Jones, an allergy and immunology specialist at Rocky Mountain Allergy at Tanner Clinic in Utah, “Early antibiotic use may also have an influence on the gut and likelihood of developing allergies.”

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