Why Are So Many People Allergic To Food? Is Your Immune System Overreacting (and Why)?

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When Good Food Goes Rogue

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It seems like you can't go to a party anymore without someone mentioning a food allergy. Peanuts cashews shellfish even milk. What used to be a rare problem is now a common conversation. We're not imagining it. The data shows food allergies are definitely on the rise especially among kids. It's nuts (pun intended).

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First, let's get one thing straight. An allergy and an intolerance are not the same thing. Not even close. An intolerance—like your stomach grumbling after a milkshake—is a digestive issue. It's annoying. But a true food allergy is your body’s entire military declaring war. It's your immune system, the elite security force meant to fight off germs, mistakenly identifying a harmless peanut protein as a mortal enemy. It's a full-on code-red panic.

So what’s the biological drama? Your body is designed to bust invaders. When a real threat like a virus shows up, the immune system creates tiny protein warriors called antibodies. But with a food allergy, the system's wiring gets crossed. It sees a perfectly normal protein from, say, an almond, and flags it as a dangerous parasite. The next time you eat an almond, the body goes haywire. It unleashes a flood of chemicals, most famously histamine. This is what causes the itchy throat, the hives, and the scary swelling. In the worst cases, this reaction, called anaphylaxis, can shut down your breathing. The truly baffling part? This can start at any time. You could eat a food for 30 years with no problem, and then one random Tuesday, your body decides it’s a mortal enemy. What could possibly be causing this betrayal...

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