The Dish > Obesity: An Allergic Reaction?
Obesity: An Allergic Reaction?
By Andy Steinke
Two new medical studies have determined what may be the underlying cause of obesity in some people: food allergies. One study, released in December, observed a group of overweight children and a group of average weight children. Researchers measured the levels of a protein that shows the amount of inflammation in the body. They also measured an antibody that shows the levels of delayed food allergies. Results showed that the overweight children had elevated levels of both the protein and the antibody and that this elevation caused their obesity.
Inflammation, a process in which white blood cells protect our bodies from infection and foreign substances, makes the body produce more insulin and ultimately store more fat, leading to obesity. During autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks itself by mistake and the body inappropriately prompts an inflammatory response. The study determined that the food allergies were actually prompting the inflammation and was the cause of the obesity, not a consequence.
A different study from last year found that high-sugar, high-fat, low-fiber diets plus certain drugs like antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and hormones can trigger bacteria in the gut. The bacteria cause the gut to leech food particles from the small intestines into the body, leading to inflammation. The leaked food particles essentially become an internal food allergy.
Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat account for 90 percent of all food allergies, according to The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, a non-profit organization devoted to food allergy research and education. However, only 2 percent of adults and 6 percent of children have true food allergies that will trigger an immune response. Food allergies account for 100 to 200 deaths in America every year.