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Processed food, allergies and the challenge of feeding kids
A new clinical study into childhood allergies is a welcome move that also underscores the growing problem parents are grappling with.
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Shoppers at a hypermarket in Tampines. A growing body of research points to a troubling possibility that highly processed food and beverages are contributing to childhood allergies, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Jieun Wrigley
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Growing up, the word “allergy” didn’t carry the same weight it does today. But somewhere between my Capri-Sun childhood of the 1980s and my green juice motherhood, things changed.
Studies show that while Gen X experienced relatively low rates of childhood food allergies, millennials saw a significant increase in peanut, egg, and dairy allergies. By the time Gen Z entered school, allergic conditions were sufficiently common that widespread nut-free policies became standard in many schools.
