Multi-Food Allergies

Phil: Whether it's, you know, spoons, whether it's fast food, whether it's sugars, all about moderation. And probably even more important when we talk about moderation, the rise of food allergies is going through the roof. Research is suggesting that about 10.8% of adults and 7.6% of kids in the US have food allergies. And 19% of adults are indicated to be allergic to at least one food. So, you know, what's going on where we have more food allergies than ever before? Is this because of new ingredients that are being used? Is it because, maybe during the pandemic, because this took place between October 2015, so, no, this was pre-pandemic October 2015 to September 2016. So we can't blame the pandemic on this one. 

Sally: Well, there are multiple theories out there about food allergies that we read all of the time, some environmental, some about what is going into our food, but it does make us wonder what is happening here, where so many people have food allergies and not just one food allergy. But you know, in this study that we looked at, they looked at people who had one food allergy, and half of them have multiple food allergies. And we know that this takes a toll on people in their lifestyle, mentally, in their social interactions. And it's also just very dangerous for them, you know for their lives. 

Phil: And it's tough when you go out to a restaurant, not just on the restaurant staff, but you know, you don't know all the ingredients that are being put in something. And yes, you can ask, your wait staff, you know, is there soy in this or is there sesame in this? And so on. And they may say no or yes, or they may say, I'll check with the kitchen. Who knows if they're even checking with the kitchen. So it's really important that, that we're careful on that.