2019-05-01_Healthy_Food_Guide_UK

immunologist at
Frimley Park Hospital,
Surrey. While we’re
recommended not to be
over-zealous with cleaning
products, the flip side is that a
lackofhygienecanleadto
infectionssuchasdiarrhoea.
A morewidelyaccepted
explanationfortheincreasein
allergiesis the‘oldfriends’theory.
Thisrecognisesthatbacteriacan
beprotectiveaswellascausing
infections.Certainstrainshave
evolvedalongsidehumanbeings
formillennia.If we’renotexposed
tothem,manythingscanbe
affected– includingguthealth,
skinand,crucially,immunity.
‘Themicrobiomeis affectedby
diet,’saysJenna.‘Bacteriafeed
offfibrefromplantsourcessuch
asbeansandlegumes.If you
don’teatenoughoftheseor
havea restricteddiet,it may
affectyourimmuneresponses.’
Therearealsoconcernsabout
theroleantibioticsmayplayin
allergies.‘Thesedepletegood
bacteriaaswellasbad,’says
Jenna,‘somayhavea lasting
effectonthemicrobiome.’
‘There’ssomelimitedevidence
thattakingprobioticscanhelp,’
saysPatrick.‘Butwedon’tyet
haveenoughresearchto
pinpointspecificbacteriathat
mayprotectagainstallergies.’
‘Lackofsleepcanalsodeplete
theimmunesystem,’saysJenna.
‘Whenwesleepthebodygetsrid
ofolderimmunecells– thisonly
happensinparticularphasesof
thesleepcycle,though,soit’s
importanttogetenough.’
‘Insomecases,a personmay
experience“exercise-inducedfood
anaphylaxis”,addsHFGnutrition
editorAmandaUrsell.‘Thisis

when an allergy

is triggered after

eating a certain food

and then exercising.

Alcohol or anti-inflammatories

such as aspirin or ibuprofen may

alsotriggeranallergy,’shesays.

Cananythinghelp

preventallergies?

PREVENTIONISN’TALWAYS

POSSIBLEbut,saysJenna,

onestepwecanalltakeis to

makesureourdietcontains

macronutrients(suchascarbsand

proteins),plentyofmicronutrients

(vitaminsandminerals)and

phytonutrients(foundinplants).

Shouldchildrenavoidpeanuts?

Patricksayspreviousadvicenot

togivethemtochildrenunder

twoandforwomentoavoid

themwhenpregnant(toreduce

thechanceofchildrendeveloping

allergies)is nowoutdated,

althoughtheNHScontinuesto

recommendthatchildrenshould

noteatpeanutsbeforetheageof

sixmonths.Breast-fedbabies

arethoughttobelesslikelyto

developallergiesinlaterlife.

Isthereanytreatment?

THELATESTRESEARCHin

EuropeandAmericacentreson

oralimmunotherapy(OIT).This

introducessmallamountsofthe

problemallergenintothe

patient’sdietatregularintervals

undermedicalsupervision,with

theamountsgraduallyincreased

overtime.Theaimis tocausethe

immunesystemeventuallyto

adapttotoleratethefood

andhelpprotectallergic

individualsagainst

reactionsfollowing

accidentalexposure.

A promising 2014 study

bytheUniversityofCambridge

foundtreatingchildrenwho

hada peanutallergywith

immunotherapyinvolvingminute

amountsofpeanutwassuccessful

in84%ofcases.Thismust,of

course,onlyeverbeattempted

undermedicalsupervision.

If you’reaffectedbyanyofthese,

themostimportantthingyou

candois bevigilantabout

checkingthelabels.‘Themost

commonfoodallergiesin

UKadultsarenutsandseeds,

fisha

orala

(wher

birch-

topro

vege

Patric

comm

includ

(ache

foods

and

lacto

indai

nd seaffoodd,milk,eggsaand

llergysyndrome

re thosewitha

• pollenallergyreaact
  ooteinnssinfruitsandd
  aa ees)),’ saysDr
  ckYoonng. Other
  mmoncuulprits
  ddeehiisttamine
  emmiicaallfofoundin
  inincclud ggcheese
  winee)), lul tennnanandd
  see(fouundndn
  iiryrr prooductctts)s)s).

LUPIN BEANS

PEANUTS

EGGS

DAIRYPRODUCTS

^The ‘old friends’

theory recognises

that bacteria can be

protective as well as

causing infections

_

Ocelery

Ocerealsthat

containgluten

Ocrustaceans

Oeggs

Ofish

Olupin

Omilk

Omolluscs

Omustard

Otreenuts

Opeanuts

Osesame

seeds

Osoya

Osulphur

dioxide

(sulphites)

SESAME SEEDS

Food outlets are legally obliged

to provide information on these

common allergens:

THE TOP 14

FOOD ALLERGENS

MAY 2019 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 27

Health