Fast food as a trigger for allergies

Excessive hygiene and fast foods may seem to favor allergies

08/10/2012

More and more people are suffering from allergies in the modern industrial nations. The possible causes are complex. According to the experts of the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Vienna), the over-hygiene and the unhealthy diet with too much fast food plays an essential role.

According to the MedUni Vienna, almost 30 percent of the population in Austria suffer from an allergic disease. The number of new cases continues to increase. The allergic diseases have increased by 20 to 30 percent in recent years, the experts estimate. Professor med. Zsolt Szépfalusi from the Department of Pediatrics at the MedUni Vienna told ORF Online that the excessive hygiene as well as the consumption of ready meals and fast foods have a considerable influence on the increased occurrence of allergies.

Fast food and exaggerated hygiene possible causes of allergies
According to the experts, every fifth child suffers from an allergy, and the trend continues to rise. The most common are allergic diseases such as hay fever, asthma, neurodermatitis or food allergies. Although the specific causes so far remain unclear, but the evidence of a connection with the diet and the so-called hygiene hypothesis seem to be condensed. Thus, Prof. Szépfalusi also concludes that today's fast food diet is partly to blame for the increase in allergies. "We have pasteurized, precooked foods. This fast food industry did not exist that much 20 years ago and it "certainly influences our intestinal flora and how we deal with allergens," the physician told ORF Online. Prof. Szépfalusi attributes a comparable influence to the exaggerated cleanliness of everyday life. The "hygiene hypothesis means to understand that simply the so-called healthy dirt has a certain protective effect against allergies," explained the expert.

Medicines can promote the occurrence of allergies
In April, Professor Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim, Head of the Institute of Pathophysiology at MedUni Vienna, at a press conference already addressed lifestyle, environment and drugs as potential triggers of allergies. In addition to smoking, she also referred to the extreme hygiene as "known allergenfördernd." In addition, Prof. Jensen-Jarolim and her team of researchers have shown, "that in the drug treatment of stress such as by gastric acid blockers or neutralizers, an increased risk of sensitization and triggering a food allergy. "And medication can therefore have a significant impact on the development of an allergy.

Fastfood Cause of significant health problems
There are numerous studies on the negative effects of fast foods on the organism. From an increased risk of asthma to depression, the identified possible health impairments as a result of fast food consumption are sufficient. At the Medical University of Vienna, researchers in the field of allergology / immunology / infectiology are primarily concerned with the allergy-related consequences of unhealthy diets and possible causal relationships. According to their own statements, the experts of MedUni Vienna are the world leaders in researching the causes and treatment options of allergic diseases. In what way fast food nutrition increases the risk of allergies, they could not yet conclusively clarify. (Fp)

Read about:
Triggers fast-food depression?
Discovery of fast food and asthma