It seems like every time I turn around these days I'm hearing about people having food allergies. It's everywhere.
When I was in school, I don't remember having friends that had any dietary restrictions. We all ate whatever we wanted and didn't carry "EpiPens" around in our backpacks.
What's changed? Why are food allergies so prevalent today when they used to be so few and far between?
Once I started looking into the answer...it made sense. No wonder food allergies are worsening with every generation. They're not eating the way we used to. They're not eating real food. It's actually quite simple...
Here are the reasons our Grandparents didn't have food allergies...
- They ate seasonal, real food. Food came from farms and small markets in the early 1900’s, and because food preservatives were not widely used yet, food was fresh. Because of the lack of processed food, their diets were nutrient dense allowing them to get the nutrition they needed from their food.For babies, breast milk was valued and it was always in season.
- They didn't diet and play restrictive games with their bodies and metabolism. They ate food when food was available. Our grandparents did not fall victim to fad diets, food marketing, calorie counting, and other detrimental dieting habits that are popular today (in part because the marketing infrastructure didn’t exist yet). Because of this they had a healthy metabolism, and ate according to their body’s needs and cravings.
- They cooked food at home, using traditional preparation methods from scratch. Buying processed food was not an option, and eating out was a rare luxury. Lucky for our grandparents these habits actually increased their health.
- They didn't eat GMO's, food additives, stabilizers and thickeners. Food was not yet treated with additives, antibiotics and hormones to help preserve shelf life and pad the pockets of food producers in the early 1900’s at the expense of the consumer’s health.
- They ate the whole animal that included mineral rich bone broth and organ meats. Animal bones were saved or bought to make broths and soups, and organ meats always had a special place at the dinner table. These foods were valued for their medicinal properties, and never went to waste.
- They didn't go to the doctor if they felt sick or take prescription medications. Doctor visits were saved for accidental injuries and life threatening illness. When they got a fever, they waited it out. When they felt sick, they ate soups, broths and got lots of rest. They did not have their doctor or nurse on speed dial, and trusted the body’s natural healing process a whole lot more than we do today. Their food was medicine, whether they realized it or not.
- They spent lots of time outside. Our grandparents didn’t have the choice to stay inside and play on their phones, computers and gaming systems. They played on the original play-station: bikes, swing-sets and good ol’ mother nature!
AND WHAT DO THESE THINGS HAVE TO DO WITH FOOD ALLERGIES?
Nutrition affects EVERY cell in our body. The health of our cells is dependent on diet and lifestyle. Cells create tissues, tissues create organs, and we are made up of a system of organs. If your nutrition is inadequate, the integrity of each cell, tissue and organ in your body will suffer, thus you may be MORE sensitive to certain foods.
-These answers are based on an article about food allergies from "Butter Nutrition". I know this is a very simplistic list and is meant to "simply" get people think about what they are putting in their bodies and their families bodies. I completely understand that food allergies are very real and this list is not intended to downplay their severity.