Are Food Allergies Linked To Farm Antibiotics?

Some methods of food allergy testing are unproven and are considered controversial, since no definitive studies have shown that they can effectively diagnose food allergies. Some may even increase the risk of an allergic reaction. The first step an allergist will take to diagnose a food allergy is a thorough medical history. The allergist will ask questions to determine if food allergy may be causing your symptoms and to identify the culprit food(s), and will then perform a physical exam. Next, the allergist may conduct tests to help identify a food allergy. 

Are Food Allergies Linked To Farm Antibiotics?

Dr. Mercola discusses the proven links of food allergies to farm antibiotics

Food allergies affect an estimated 15 million Americans, including one in 13 children. Statistics indicate something strange is afoot, as food allergies in children rose by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011 alone.

Similarly, in Great Britain one in three people are allergic to something, be it pollen, dust mites, or food.  Previous research has drawn parallels between the rise in allergies and increased antibiotic and antimicrobial use. One study  showed exposure to antibiotics early in life increased the risk of eczema in children by 40 percent.

Other research has shown how genetically engineered foods and the use of the agricultural herbicide glyphosate destroys gut bacteria, thereby promoting allergies.

According to one recent study common gut bacteria called Clostridia specifically help prevent sensitization to food allergens. In short, by destroying gut bacteria and altering your microbiome, agricultural chemicals like glyphosate can play a significant role in creating food allergies.

Antibiotic Pesticides Can Cause Allergic Reactions

But glyphosate is not the only culprit. Part of what makes glyphosate so harmful is the fact that it has antibiotic action, and antibiotics are also part of other pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

Researchers now claim to have identified the first case in which a serious allergic reaction was traced to an antibiotic pesticide. In this case, a 10-year old girl suffered a severe allergic reaction to blueberry pie.

The culprit turned out to be a streptomycin-containing pesticide that had been applied to the blueberries. According to lead author Dr. Anne Des Roches, this is “the first report that links an allergic reaction to fruits treated with antibiotic pesticides.”

As noted by allergist Dr. James Sublett:

“This is a very rare allergic reaction. Nevertheless, it’s something allergists need to be aware of and that emergency room personnel may need to know about in order to help determine where anaphylactic reactions may arise.”

He goes on to recommend that anyone at risk of allergies should carry epinephrine, and know how to use it. While that’s certainly good advice for acute reactions, it’s not really an ideal long-term answer.

Agricultural Antibiotics Also Promote Antibiotic-Resistant Disease

Along with its potential for causing food allergies, agricultural antibiotics are also a primary driver of antibiotic resistant disease. It’s important to realize that antibiotics are used:

  • In livestock as a growth promoter, and  to compensate for unsanitary living conditions
  • In pesticides applied to fresh fruits and vegetables. Vegetables can also be contaminated with antibiotics if the farmer uses manure from treated cows as crop fertilizer

Factory Farming Is a Primary Source of Antibacterial Resistance

According to a 2013 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on antibiotic-resistant threats, drug-resistant organisms in the American food supply pose “a serious threat” to public health. The report linked 22 percent of antibiotic-resistant illness in humans to contaminated foods, and earlier research  has suggested you have a 50/50 chance of buying meat tainted with drug-resistant bacteria. Another 2013 paper by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) titled Antibiotic Resistance in Foodborne Pathogens,  reports that between 1973 and 2011, there were 55 antibiotic-resistant foodborne outbreaks in the US.

More than half of the outbreaks involved dairy products, ground beef, and poultry. More than half of the outbreaks also involved pathogens resistant to five or more antibiotics! The fact of the matter is, when antibiotics are routinely used to raise food animals, the microbes develop resistance to the drug, which makes antibiotics less effective for treating disease in humans. And without effective antibiotics, it will be very difficult to care for premature babies, cancer patients, organ transplants, surgeries, and emergency room medicine, just to name a few.

As noted in the video above, without antibiotics, the rate of post-operative infection can reach as high as 50 percent, and about three out of every 10 affected patients will die as a result… We’re already seeing the effects of antibiotic overuse. Hospital-acquired infections now affect one in 25 patients, and many of these infections are drug resistant. According to CDC statistics,  two million American adults and children become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and at least 23,000 of them die.

Antibiotics in Agriculture Must Be Eliminated to Solve This Problem

Use of antibiotics in healthy livestock (including farmed fish) account for about 80 percent of all antibiotic use in the US, so in order to halt the growth of antibiotic resistance we really must address this source. According to a 2009 report  by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on this subject, factory farms used 29 million pounds of antibiotics that year alone.

Yet despite all the evidence of grave harm, very little is being done to actually curtail agricultural use of antibiotics. In mid-July, US Congresswoman and microbiologist Louise M. Slaughter  (NY-D) asked President Obama to issue an executive order requiring all federally purchased meat to be raised without antibiotics. While that would certainly be a start, what about the rest of us?

Precautionary Steps to Help Prevent Food Allergies

Since food allergies appear to be closely linked to abnormal gut flora, courtesy of antibiotics (and other chemicals) in food, it would be wise to not only avoid known allergens, but to also avoid foods known to kill beneficial gut bacteria. To promote optimal gut health and beneficial bacteria that may help ward off allergy sensitization, I recommend avoiding the following:

Grains and sugar, as it promotes the growth of pathogenic yeast and other fungi. Grains containing gluten are particularly damaging to your microflora and overall health.
Genetically engineered foods, as they contain some of the highest amounts of glyphosate. This agricultural herbicide has been found to decimate microbes, and tend to preferentially attack beneficial bacteria.
Processed and pasteurized foods, which harm your good bacteria.
Conventionally-raised meats and other animal products; CAFO animals are routinely fed low-dose antibiotics and GE livestock feed.
Chlorinated tap water, as chlorine kills not only pathogenic bacteria in the water but also beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Medical antibiotics (use only if absolutely necessary, and make sure to reseed your gut with fermented foods and/or a good probiotic supplement)
NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) damage cell membranes and disrupt energy production by mitochondria.
Proton pump inhibitors (drugs that block the production of acid in your stomach, typically prescribed for GERD, such as Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium)
Antibacterial soap and any product containing antimicrobials such as triclosan.
Stress
Pollution

The GAPS diet is perhaps one of the most effective ways to resolve food allergies as it “heals and seals” your gut. Leaky gut is a condition in which large food particles are allowed to bypass the protective lining of your intestinal wall. When these molecules enter your bloodstream, where they do not belong, your body creates an immune response, i.e. an allergic response. The GAPS protocol is designed to restore the integrity of your gut lining, and in order for that to happen, you need:

  • The proper building blocks in terms of nutrients
  • Beneficial gut microbes

In a nutshell, you need to drive out pathogens and replace them with beneficial bacteria, and you need to provide the appropriate nutrients in order for your gut lining to produce new cells. And that’s what the GAPS Nutritional Protocol does.

Article Summary

  • Your gut microbiome activity plays a role in the development of any number of diseases, including food allergies. Recent research shows a common gut bacteria helps prevent sensitization to food allergens
  • By destroying gut bacteria and altering your microbiome, agricultural chemicals like glyphosate and antibiotic pesticides can play a significant role in creating food allergies
  • Use of antibiotics in healthy livestock accounts for about 80 percent of all antibiotic use in the US, so to halt the growth of antibiotic resistance we must address this source
  • Along with its potential for causing food allergies, agricultural antibiotics are also a primary driver of antibiotic resistant disease, which now kills an estimated 23,000 Americans each year
  • Dr. Mercola believes these are compelling reasons to eat organically. In the case of meat and other animal products such as eggs and dairy, your best bet is organic grass-fed or pastured varieties

Read the entire revealing articleby clicking link below
article source:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/17/farm-antibiotics-food-allergies.aspx 
photo credit: Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/skewgee/3750872835

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