Health experts are baffled by the sudden rise in adult-onset food allergies, with nearly 50% of adults developing at least one such allergy later in life. According to a 2019 study published in JAMA, the trend has raised concerns among researchers and medical professionals.
Illana Golant, the founder and CEO of the Food and Allergy Fund (FAF) in New York City, shared her personal experience of developing food allergies in her 40s. She emphasized the lack of understanding surrounding the condition, stating that experts still don’t fully comprehend why these allergies begin at certain points in life.
FAF recently hosted a forum in Washington, D.C., where HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, FDA Chief Martin Makary, and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya participated. The event brought together health officials and researchers to discuss potential causes, including the role of gut health and microbial imbalances in the development of food allergies.
Makary highlighted the importance of maintaining a balanced microbiome, noting that modern diets, antibiotics, and environmental exposures can disrupt this balance, potentially leading to inflammation and health issues, including food allergies. He explained that the intestine hosts over a billion types of bacteria, which function normally but can be disrupted by modern lifestyle factors.
Golant observed that some foods, such as shellfish and tree nuts, seem to trigger allergies more frequently in adults than in children. She noted that shellfish was the top allergen in adults, according to a 2018 survey of over 40,000 people published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
She shared her own experience of realizing she had anaphylactic food allergies, describing how she initially thought she was having a heart attack. Golant emphasized that the rapid rise in food allergies, particularly among children, is a significant concern, with no clear explanation for the sudden increase in cases.