The May 2006 issue of National Geographic magazine includes an extensive, in-depth article titled Allergies: A Modern Epidemic.

The article follows the struggles of young asthma and allergy sufferers, as well as the work of scientists who are trying to find out why worldwide allergy rates have been rising for decades and what they can do to help.

‘Suppose that 54.3 percent of U.S. citizens had cancer. That figure might set off a nationwide panic–a search for something wrong with our diet, our environment, our activity levels…something. In fact, that's the number of Americans who show a positive skin response to one or more allergens,’ writes author Judith Newman.

The number of children with potential fatal peanut allergy doubled between 1997 and 2002. Newman writes, ‘For some people even boiling shrimp or snapping a latex glove can release enough allergens into the atmosphere to cause anaphylaxis.’

Asthma cases have also been on the rise. Asthma affects twice as many Americans today as it did 20 years ago, and about 4,000 people die from asthma each year in the United States alone.

Like obesity, allergies and asthma seem to be epidemics of modernity. Newman points out, ‘There are remote areas of South America and Africa, for example, where allergies are virtually nonexistent.’

The article discusses several theories about why allergies are on the rise, including diets with more processed foods less fruits and vegetables, overuse of antibiotics, environmental pollution, global warming, and the hygiene hypothesis, which posits that we are not exposed to dirt at a young enough age to give our immune systems a good work out.

If you suffer from allergies or asthma, it would be worthwhile to go to your local library or bookstore to read the entire eye-opening article for yourself.

Also see our comprehensive Allergy Relief Learning Center.