Determining Reaction Level of Food Allergens

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology published a study on the level of food allergens required to cause an allergic reaction to people sensitive to them.

An allergic reaction happens when the body's immune system reacts to a specific food type. Common types of food allergies include milk, eggs, some fruit and vegetables, and nuts. Reactions can be as mild as an itchy sensation or can be life threatening (Anaphylaxis).

The researchers wanted to find a level of allergen which would only produce a reaction in the most sensitive ten percent of people with food allergies.

The number of people who have food allergies has increased in recent decades with around 5-7% of infants and 1-2% of adults at risk. The study aims to develop warning guidelines and food labels that would help inform consumers about the allergen levels in a given product since different people have different allergen tolerance than others.

Countries Using High Fructose Corn Syrup Have 20% More Prevalence of Diabetes

Researchers have found a link between the use of high fructose corn syrup in a country's food source and the spread of type 2 diabetes.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are made from corn syrup. The syrup contains glucose (a simple sugar) which is then converted to another more sweeter type of sugar, fructose. Both glucose and fructose are simple sugars that are sweet, colorless, and odorless.

HFCS are commonly used as a sweetener in commercially available foods and beverages. Soda, cereals, candies, and bread are some of the food that use HFCS.

HFCS in food and drinks is said to be one of the major reasons for the rise of obesity in children.

Obesity Crisis Made Worse By Food Industry Policies and Practices

Obesity is a condition where person has too much body fat.

This happens when the calorie intake is more than what the body burns. The unused calories is stored as fat by the body.

Obesity is not a psychological problem as many think. People do not consciously choose to be obese. Changes in the environment where food is readily available and physical activities are diminished contribute to the prevalence of obesity.

This is not to be confused with being overweight. Being overweight, which is also unhealthy for anyone, does not necessarily mean that the person has too much fat. An overweight person may be so because of extra muscles, heavier bones, or extra water in the body's system.

Some factors that can contribute to obesity are:

• Historical eating and dietary behavior since childhood
• Easy accessibility to food combined with minimal physical activity
• Unhealthy or unplanned diet
• Less physical jobs at work
• Lack of time to exercise

The food industry should be regulated

"The obesity crisis is made worse by the way industry formulates and markets its products and so must be regulated to prevent excesses and to protect the public good," writes a leading food expert in this week's PLoS Medicine.

Kelly Brownell from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University argues that like all industries, the food industry plays by certain rules: "It must defend its core practices against all threats, produce short-term earnings, and in do doing, sell more food. If it distorts science, creates front groups to do its bidding, compromises scientists, professional organizations, and community groups with contributions, blocks needed public health policies in the service of their goals, or engages in other tactics in ''the corporate playbook,'' this is what is takes to protect business as usual."