It’s no secret that food-allergies have over recent years become more prevailant; and according to the NHS website there are a couple of reasons for this:
- One theory behind the increase is that a typical child’s diet has changed considerably over the last three to four decades.
- Another is that children are increasingly growing up in “germ-free” environments. This sometimes results in their immune systems not receiving sufficient early exposure to the germs needed to develop properly. This is known as the hygiene hypothesis.
Sadly this rise in food allergies, specifically nut allergies, has led to many schools becoming nut-free zones. Whilst, as a parent, I can sympathise with others who may have children with severe allergies, I also can’t help but feel that a blanket ban on nuts is a severe cop out by schools. Indeed, I believe that we could be making the whole situation worse by cutting out an entirely healthy and nutritious food group from a school culinary curriculum.
Allergy UK has a whole list of resources for schools, and I quote from the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Position Paper included within the resources (view it here), which states;
How to fight back…
