Are food allergies more common now? 6 Minute English
video description
Research has suggested that food allergies may be more common these days than they were in the last 20 or 30 years. Why might this be? Is it linked to our diet? And are there any signs that a child might go on to develop a food allergy as an adult? Neil and Rob discuss if food allergies are becoming more common, and teach you new vocabulary.
This week's question
One of the most common food allergies is to peanuts. What kind of food is a peanut? Is it:
A) a vegetable
B) a nut or
C) a legume
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
Vocabulary
food allergies
medical problems that are caused by eating certain foods
robust studies
detailed, thorough and accurate research
prevalence
a noun referring to how often or how frequent something is
eczema
a medical condition of the skin
a significant increase
a large, noticeable rise in the number of something
to put something down to something
to say that one thing is the reason for another
Transcript
Note: This is not a word for word transcript
Neil
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.
Rob
And, hello, I'm Rob.
Neil
In 6 Minute English we often talk about food, dont we, Rob?
Rob
Oh yes! And I love food. Its a very important topic.
Neil
We know that too much of the wrong kind of food can be bad for our health. But there is another way that food can be harmful for some people.
Rob
Yes, youre right. Some people have food allergies. They can become very ill if they eat certain foods such as peanuts, shellfish, milk and so on. So, Neil, do you have any food allergies?
Neil
Fortunately I don't, but my daughter is allergic to tree nuts, and so she gets very ill if she eats those.
Rob
Oh dear! Well, it seems as if there are more food allergies these days, or more people have them. Or maybe its just in the news more.
Neil
Well, thats a very interesting point because that is the topic of this programme. Before we find out more though, here is our question. One of the most common food allergies is to peanuts. Now, what kind of food is a peanut? Is it:
A) a vegetable
B) a nut or
C) a legume
Rob
Oh, come on! A peanut is a nut! Theres a clue in the name there, Neil! But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? So Im going to say that Ive got no idea what a legume is, so thats my answer. C.
Neil
Ill have the answer at the end of the programme. To help answer the question as to whether food allergies are more common now, heres Dr Adam Fox, who was speaking on The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4. Does he think there has been an increase?
Dr Adam Fox
I think we can be very confident if you look back over, say, 30 or 40 years that there are much more allergic problems around now than there were. So, for example, very robust studies that look at prevalence of things like eczema, food allergy do show really significant increases over 20, 30 years, for example.
Neil
Has there been an increase?
Rob
Well, yes. He says there have been significant increases. This means there has been a 'clear and obvious rise'.
Neil
Why does he think that?
Rob
He said that there have been robust studies. A study is a piece of research and if you say a study is robust, it means that it was 'very detailed and conducted thoroughly to a high standard'.
Neil
He said that these studies looked at the prevalence of a few things. Prevalence is a noun that refers to how common something is, how often it happens.
Rob
One of the things they looked at as well as food allergies was eczema. This is a skin condition that usually happens in childhood. The skin can get, red, itchy and painful over different parts of the body.
Neil
Heres Dr Fox again.
Dr Adam Fox
I think we can be very confident, if you look back over, say, 30 or 40 years that there are much more allergic problems around now than there were. So, for example, very robust studies that look at prevalence of things like eczema, food allergy do show really significant increases over 20, 30 years, for example.
Neil
So what is the reason for the increase in food allergies? Is it genetics? Dr Fox again.
Dr Adam Fox
We certainly cant put it down to genetics. And we now understand that there is a key role for eczema. So, theres a pretty direct relationship between whether youve got eczema during infancy and your likelihood of getting a food allergy.
Neil
Is it genetics?
Rob
No, he says 'you cant put it down to genetics' which means 'you cant explain it' by genetics.
Neil
In fact, according to the research, if you have eczema as a child, you are more likely to develop food allergies. Here's Dr Fox one more time.
Dr Adam Fox
We certainly cant put it down to genetics. And we now understand that there is a key role for eczema. So, theres a pretty direct relationship between whether youve got eczema during infancy and your likelihood of getting a food allergy.
Neil
OK! Now, time to review our vocabulary, but first, lets have the answer to the quiz question. I asked: what kind of food is a peanut? Is it:
A) a vegetable
B) a nut
C) a legume
What did you say, Rob?
Rob
I said C) a legume, because that was only one I didnt know and it cant be as simple as being a nut!
Neil
An inspired guess! If you said C) legume, then congratulations. Despite the name, a peanut is not actually a nut. Rather conveniently though, we dont have time for me to explain exactly why its not a nut, but Im sure youre smart enough to look it up yourself.
Rob
So, youre not going to explain it?
Neil
No, sorry, we dont have the time.
Rob
Sounds to me like youre allergic to hard work, Neil!
Neil
Nice link to todays vocabulary. We do have time for that. Today weve been looking at the topic of food allergies. This is when a particular food causes a medical problem.
Rob
The problem could be minor or it could be very serious, even fatal and these are called allergic reactions.
Neil
The topic has been investigated with robust studies. This is research that has been done in a very detailed, accurate and thorough way.
Rob
The next word was the noun prevalence. This is used to talk about how common or how frequent something is. In this research, they examined the prevalence of food allergies in certain age groups.
Neil
Closely connected to food allergies is eczema. This is a medical condition that makes your skin dry, painful and itchy over different parts of the body.
Rob
It was reported that there had a been a significant increase in the number of people suffering from eczema and food allergies. A significant increase is a big and important increase.
Neil
And finally we had the phrase to put something down to something. This means 'to say one thing is the reason for another'. In this case, you couldnt put the increase in food allergies down to genetics.
Rob
You know what I put the success of 6 Minute English down to?
Neil
No, what's that, Rob?
Rob
Your great knowledge of different subjects and skill as a presenter and communicator.
Neil
Well, thats very kind of you but I still dont have time to explain what a legume is! In fact now its time to wrap up this edition of 6 Minute English. We look forward to your company again soon. In the meantime, check us out in all the usual places, online and on social media. We are BBC Learning English. Bye for now!
Rob
Goodbye!
Date: 2020-09-18
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Comments and reviews: 8
Paolo
I can say that lots of food are treated by using chemicals. For example when we talk about vegetables, chemicals are useful to grow them quickly and on the better way. Consequently, over time, tiny quantities of these substances might end up into our body, developing an allergy reaction. Thats my opinion.
Thanks for your video.
reply
I can say that lots of food are treated by using chemicals. For example when we talk about vegetables, chemicals are useful to grow them quickly and on the better way. Consequently, over time, tiny quantities of these substances might end up into our body, developing an allergy reaction. Thats my opinion.
Thanks for your video.
reply
Feras
Allergic reaction may happen due to a lot of foods , medicens( like penicillin, sulfate,..) and insects bite , so Allergic reactions are related to specific proteins which are responsible for allergy .
And I think Eczema itself is genetic disease.
reply
Allergic reaction may happen due to a lot of foods , medicens( like penicillin, sulfate,..) and insects bite , so Allergic reactions are related to specific proteins which are responsible for allergy .
And I think Eczema itself is genetic disease.
reply
Edgar
I've been waiting for my allergy test results for more than three weeks. I'm being tested for dust, dust mite, mould allergy. GP put my the fact i have sore throat down to possible allergy.
reply
I've been waiting for my allergy test results for more than three weeks. I'm being tested for dust, dust mite, mould allergy. GP put my the fact i have sore throat down to possible allergy.
reply
Eurlove
Some Spanish people like me don't understand tree nuts in place to nuts. peanut is a legume, and as to whether it's a vegetable, I was thinking legume were vegetables, weren't they?
reply
Some Spanish people like me don't understand tree nuts in place to nuts. peanut is a legume, and as to whether it's a vegetable, I was thinking legume were vegetables, weren't they?
reply
Marry
I am extremely allergic to egg , if I eat it on breakfast I feel severe pain in my stomach and that's really bothering me because I like eating egg
reply
I am extremely allergic to egg , if I eat it on breakfast I feel severe pain in my stomach and that's really bothering me because I like eating egg
reply
Egg-free
Thanks Rob & Neil for an interesting topic. My son has an EGG Allergy which is difficult to manage especially at childrens birthday parties.
reply
Thanks Rob & Neil for an interesting topic. My son has an EGG Allergy which is difficult to manage especially at childrens birthday parties.
reply
mariam
Legume is a word used to describe any plant that has its seed in a pod. So pea, soybeans, chickpea, tamarind, lentil and beans are legumes.
reply
Legume is a word used to describe any plant that has its seed in a pod. So pea, soybeans, chickpea, tamarind, lentil and beans are legumes.
reply
sasikala
some food allergies happen because excessive eating of specific kind of food which is not commonly identified as is allergic food.
reply
some food allergies happen because excessive eating of specific kind of food which is not commonly identified as is allergic food.
reply
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