Today, it’s not uncommon to see all varieties of diet-conscious foods in stores, from lactose free options to gluten free foods in Poplar Bluff, MO. And while most of us may just pass these food options over, for others, they’re literally a saving grace that can give people with food allergies a shot a having a normal diet. In fact, more and more people each and every year are being diagnosed with food allergy issues, making the proliferation of diet-conscious foods more important than ever. Take a look at five of the fastest growing and most recorded food allergies:
- Celiac disease: Celiac disease affects about one in every 700 people today, whereas that number was closer to double only ten years ago. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the body’s ability to properly process gluten from wheat, rye, barley and other grains, resulting in a variety of symptoms that can range from skin breakouts to irritable bowels. Today, celiac disease is quickly becoming one of the biggest focuses of the health foods market and gluten free foods in Poplar Bluff, MO are expanding rapidly.
- Lactose intolerance: While lactose intolerance isn’t nearly as new to people as celiac disease or similar allergies, it still remains one of the most prevalent food allergies today, affecting people from all walks of life and backgrounds. Thankfully, lactose free foods are widespread and there are even oral medications that can be taken to help break down lactose in the body.
- Tree nuts and peanuts: Nut allergies can take hold on a huge scale of severity, from simple rashes to swelling of the lips and throat, making them one of the deadliest food allergies around. It’s estimated that about one percent of the population has some level of allergy to tree nuts or peanuts. And, because nuts are representative of an important food group in our everyday diets, they need to be supplemented with other sources of protein, such as legumes.
- Shellfish: Not too many people accommodate shellfish regularly into their diet, so when these animals are consumed and an adverse reaction is had, many people don’t realize that it’s the effect of a food allergy! To make matters worse, people who had a bad reaction to shellfish usually believe it to be undercooked, so they try again with different cooking methods—however the allergic properties of shellfish cannot be dismissed through cooking!
- Soy: Soy allergies are hard to pinpoint sometimes because they mimic the effects of other food allergies and often, people do not find themselves eating only soy-based foods. Simple food allergy tests are required to pinpoint soy as an allergy and when it is, the dietary needs of an affected person become much narrower. Thankfully, like sufferers of celiac disease, the market for soy free foods has expanded rapidly in the past few years, creating more options for people with this allergy.
In today’s world, it’s not uncommon to know at least one person with one of the food allergies above—in fact, you likely know more than one person who has to restrict their diet based on their body’s ability to handle and process certain foods!