Are Food Allergies Genetic?
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In some countries, 1 in 10 children have a food allergy, and the prevalence of food allergies is increasing globally.1 We鈥檝e talked about preventing food allergies on Plate-Wise, but we鈥檝e never touched on where they come from. For many, the source is genetics. If either of your parents have allergies, you have a 50% chance of having allergies (not necessarily the same ones). If both your parents have allergies, you have a 75% chance.2
I鈥檓 no stranger to medical family histories. I suffer from hay fever 鈥 an allergy caused by pollen or dust 鈥 and my husband has asthma and childhood eczema. Both our boys have hay fever 鈥 the eldest also has eczema and is lactose-intolerant, the youngest asthma. Who knew you were supposed to compare medical files before getting married! Thankfully, none of us have an anaphylactic response (a severe allergic reaction), although my best friend fills this gap with a severe nut allergy. I鈥檝e almost killed her twice, but she still trusts my cooking!
Whether allergies run in your family, it鈥檚 best to stay in the know about what causes food allergies, what could potentially be lingering in your family tree and how to plan for the future.听
How Food Allergies Develop
Food allergies develop when a person鈥檚 body responds negatively to a food. It鈥檚 likely not the food that is the problem 鈥 as these foods have been consumed for eons 鈥 but it鈥檚 likely changes in our own biological system that鈥檚 creating a negative response to certain foods 鈥 hence why food allergies can be genetic.
Research has tracked patterns of allergy responses associated with ethnicity and lifestyle around the globe. One study, for example, found that children with mothers who were born in Asia and later migrated to Australia had a lower risk of developing a nut allergy compared with children with Asian mothers who were born in Australia. Additionally, a higher prevalence of eczema among infants of Asian parents explained approximately 30% of peanut allergy increases, while differences in dog ownership explained around 18%.鈥3 The interaction of genetics and environment continues to mystify us all.
Common Allergies and How to Manage Them
Common food allergies include those that are often outgrown (eggs, milk, soy, wheat) and those that tend to be lifelong (nuts, fish, shellfish). Talk with your family鈥檚 health care provider to know the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction and to learn of new findings. There are countless support groups and websites with plenty of information, but start with your general practitioner.
If you know food allergies run in your family, also consult your health care provider on how to navigate this risk with your kids. Just because food allergies run in the family doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean your children will develop them, but it鈥檚 best to consult a professional for guidance.
1Loh, W., and Tang, M. L. K. 2018.听The Epidemiology of Food Allergy in the Global Context. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 15(9): 2043.
2Berggren, T., et al. 2017.听Nutrition and Health Info Sheet: Food Allergies. Center for Nutrition in Schools, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis.
3Koplin, J. J., et al. 2014.听Increased risk of peanut allergy in infants of Asian-born parents compared to those of Australian-born parents. Allergy. 69(12): 1639鈥1647.