newjerseynewsroom.com

BY FRANCES WEISS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM 

Once a staple of school lunches, peanut butter is now on the way out because of the puzzling increase in food allergies among children, according to The Age. Food allergies among children have been rising over the past 20 years and no one knows why.

MSNBC cited a federal study showing that food allergies effect some 3 million kids in the United States.

Symptoms can vary from mild-to-life threatening and may include a skin rash or hives, difficulty in breathing, swelling of tongue and throat, vomiting, cramps, or loss of consciousness, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC advises that school personnel should be ready to deal with emergency situations since 25 percent of severe allergic reactions in school occur among children without a history of food allergies.

Although food allergies are most often found in infants and children, they can start at any age reports the ACAAI, American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. In addition to peanuts and tree nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs and milk are among the foods most likely to cause allergies.

Many theories have been advanced for the increase in food allergies, noted American Medical News. These include changes in the amount of foods eaten, the processing of food, lack of exposure to sun and decreased Vitamin D, and even an increase in hygiene. A little dirt might not be a bad thing, according to David L. Rosenstreich, M.D., director of the division of allergy and immunology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He noted that children who live on farms close to animals have fewer allergies.