Eli5: Why are nut allergies and gluten intolerance so prevalent and serious in certain populations (like in much of the US), and negligible to the point of being even considered a myth in other parts of the world?

Question

Eli5: Why are nut allergies and gluten intolerance so prevalent and serious in certain populations (like in much of the US), and negligible to the point of being even considered a myth in other parts of the world?

In: Biology

Answer 1

It’s most likely that the rate of reactions in the population hasn’t increased but the social awareness, rate of diagnosis, and restricted diets limiting exposure has seemed to increase the number and severity. For most of human history something like a food allergy wouldn’t even have been a consideration because of the lack of food in general and a severe reaction may not have been correlated to the food when everyone else is fine. Over time we’ve become knowledgeable and sensitive to correlation…almost to a flaw. So now, instead of allowing children to have mild reactions and carefully exposing them to new foods over and over we have an indefinite all or nothing mentality about their diet at the smallest reaction.