Food Allergy Awareness Week Starts January 23rd

Food Allergy and Awareness Week runs from January 23rd to the 29th. To bring awareness to this issue, NHS Choices (the informational website of the UK's National Health Service) has launched a tool to help consumers separate fact from fiction when it comes to food allergies and intolerance.

According to Business Wire, there is a lot of confusion around this issue. Some surveys have found that as many as 30% of respondents claim they have a food allergy. However, scientific studies estimate that only 5-8% of kids and 1-2% of adults actually have a food allergy.

Even those properly diagnosed with a food allergy or intolerance themselves may not be sure how to treat it or how to restrict their diet. The new tool explores issues such as the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance and whether you can 'outgrow' or 'cure' your food sensitivities. It also covers diagnosis, including various forms of testing administered at home or by your doctor.

This new site was developed with allergy experts from Britain's Food Standards Agency. Sue Hattersley of the Food Standards Agency commented on the need for the new tool: “It is vital that people can access accurate information about allergies and food intolerances. This new myth-buster tool provides helpful information in an easy-to-use format and I challenge everyone to have a go on it and see how much they really know about allergy.”

What will you be doing to spread allergy awareness this week?

Image by David Castor