Food Allergies on the Rise in the U.S.

by Marissa de Crom 

From: http://fyiliving.com/

It seems that food allergies are more prevalent today than ever. It’s commonplace for food labels to warn that their products may have come in contact with nuts and for preschools to ban nuts of any kind. Indeed food allergies are on the rise in the U.S., and the top offenders are peanuts, cow’s milk, eggs, shellfish, tree nuts, soy, sesame and wheat. In addition, if you fall into three key demographics, your allergy risk rises considerably. Specifically, the odds of having a blood sample that suggests a food allergy was 4.4 times higher among young, non-Hispanic black males aged 1 to 19, compared to the general population.

The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, an ongoing national survey of the health of Americans conducted since the 1960s, recently reported the results of blood sample analyses on a very large representative sample of Americans across all age groups from 1 year to more than 60 years old–the first such comprehensive national study. Over 8,200 people were measured for food-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels to four of the biggest culprits: peanuts, cow’s milk, egg, and shrimp. Immunoglobulin E is an antibody found in the blood, and high IgE levels are suggestive of an increased risk of food allergies. (Though as we’ve reported previously, elevated IgE levels are not a reliable diagnostic criterion for food allergies on their own.)  Other survey questions asked about non-food allergies including asthma and hay fever.
Judging the elevated IgE levels in blood samples taken, the researchers estimated that 2.5 percent of Americans have food allergies to one of the four foods tested, though the rate was higher in children ages 1 to 5 (4.2 percent) and lower in adults over age 60 (1.3 percent).  This trend may be partly due to a loss of sensitization with age and allergies resolving over time. For example, separate studies have suggested that peanut allergies were prevalent in 1.8 percent of children 1 to 5 years, and 2.7% in children 6 to 19 years, but decreased to 0.3 percent among adults.

Interestingly, food allergy risk was higher among those with a clinical diagnosis of asthma, and the presence of food allergy in this population appeared to be associated with worsened symptoms.  Those with asthma and food allergies were 6.9 times more likely to have experienced a serious bout of asthma is the past year than asthmatics without food allergies. Whether the relationship between food allergies and asthma is causal or not is not clear, yet consuming even a small amount of a problem food can induce asthma attacks in sensitized individuals.

The data pointing to increased risks among specific populations should help those in these risk groups be aware of their possible predisposition to food allergies. The need for further investigation into this growing public health concern is evident.

Nutrition Professor Drops 27 Pounds on a Twinkie Diet

Megan Bedard
From: http://www.takepart.com/

Mmmm, mmm, delicious? (Photo: Professor Haub's Facebook Page)

Kansas State University nutrition professor Mark Haub has been making headlines lately for his two-month Twinkie stunt. For 60 days straight, Haub ate a snack cake for every meal, with Doritos, Oreos and sugar-soaked cereals for snacks between meals.

The crazy part? He lost 27 pounds, and his cholesterol dropped.

Those results are so dang counterintuitive, the questions flood to your head—like a sugar rush.

First of all, what was he thinking?

Believe it or not, the professor had a larger plan in mind. Haub had a hunch that when it comes to dieting, calorie counting is the single most important factor in weight loss. It wasn't what he ate, he thought; it was how many calories it amounted to. He committed to proving his theory as a living example to his students.

But he's a nutrition professor?

Yep. That's exactly what left him conflicted. Having proved his point after 60 days, Haub wasn't so sure he wanted to tout the Twinkie Diet. "I'm not geared to say this is a good thing to do," he told CNN.

Commentors on his Facebook page have applauded and abhorred his actions.

"This is phenomenal, congratulations. Hopefully you will continue to update with your maintenance plan, because I felt on top of what you have done so far—but maintenance is another game altogether from my experience," one fan wrote.

"This 'experiment' boarders on CRIMINAL for a Professor of Nutrition to... be espousing this... Just think how many LAZY YO-YO's in this country will now think eating convenience store food will help them lose weight," complained a dissenter.

Why'd he lose weight, instead of gaining it?

In short, Haub's theory about caloric intake held up. He burned more calories than he ate, and that caused him to shed pounds. As for the other health improvements, like lowering his "bad" cholesterol and upping his "good" cholesterol? "When you lose weight, regardless of how you're doing it—even if it's with packaged foods, generally you will see these markers improve when weight loss has improved," explained Dawn Jackson Blatner, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Will he ever eat another Swiss Cake Roll again?

Yes, actually. Though he's planning to eat more healthfully and add 300 calories back into his daily diet, Haub hasn't sworn off snack cakes.

So overweight people should switch to Little Debbie diets?

Haub wouldn't recommend it. There are other health factors, he says, that we can't predict, such as the link between junk food and cancer. Plus, there's one other factor to consider: energy levels.

What's the lesson here?

Haub pointed out one real-life application to his experiment: tackling obesity rates in "food deserts," areas across America where people don't have access to grocery markets and rely on the food they can find in convenience stores.

"These foods are consumed by lots of people. It may be an issue of portion size and moderation rather than total removal," he said. "I just think it's unrealistic to expect people to totally drop these foods for vegetables and fruit. It may be healthy, but not realistic."

Burgerville Chain Adds Calorie Counts To Receipts

By Carrie McLaren

We've heard about fast food restaurants posting calorie counts on menus, but a small regional chain in the Northwest is experimenting with putting nutritional information on receipts.

At a Burgerville in Portland, Oregon, customers get calorie counts that fit the details of their orders.

"Guests order and ask for different things: different buns, different cheeses, different sauces, different everything," said Jeff Harvey, president and CEO for Burgerville. "So to put a label on the menu is not going resolve that challenge."

But if the calorie info only appears on the receipt, isn't it too late? Under this plan, the only way to find out how many calories you'd save by ordering a fruit smoothie instead of a shake is to buy both.

To its credit, Burgerville is also planning a bicycle drive-through program. So by encouraging cycling, they're allowing customers to consume more calories than they otherwise would. Everyone wins!

Burgerville: Get your calorie bill here [KATU.com] (Thanks to Hillary Gibson!)
Burgerville Opens Drive-Thrus to Bikes

(Photo: Brynt D. Payne)