Food allergies, an emerging epidemic to be featured in Discovery Channel documentary

Avoiding certain foods to stay alive may sound extreme to some, but it has become a way of life for us.When my daughter was first diagnosed with food allergies and anaphylaxis near the age of two, she became a grown up.  Learning to tell others what she can’t eat, the foods to avoid, reading labels and understanding the importance of a lifesaving epipen, all seem way too much for a child to have to handle.  But we’ve handled managing food allergies for six years. This way of life is growing to become the norm for many families and individuals.

Set your DVR or watch The Discovery Channel’s new documentary: “An Emerging Epidemic: Food Allergies in America” on Saturday, September 7 or September 21 at 8 a.m. ET/PT and learn how a growing rate of individuals, especially children, are managing food allergies and research advances underway.

Here is a sneak peek: 

An Emerging Epidemic: Food Allergies in America preview from Discovery Channel CME on Vimeo.

Food Allergy and Research Education (FARE) worked with the Discovery Channel to produce the hour-long documentary, which is narrated by actor Steve Carell and features individuals managing food allergies, leading food allergy experts and highlights research progress for treatments.

Food allergies affect everyone

Without a known reason for cause or a cure, food allergies have changed the way we all live.  It has spurned research and changes in regulation, policy and operations across industries and settings. Among the many include the food, restaurant, and hospitality industries; and school settings to keep food allergic individuals protected and safe.

Every one of 13 children, about two kids in every classroom, is allergic to any of the common eight allergens: nuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, dairy, eggs, and soy, according to FARE. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in May 2013 citing a rise with food and skin allergies among children. Between 1997 and 1999, food allergies affected about 3.4 percent of American children. By 2009 to 2011, that number rose to 5.1 percent.

Chances are you know someone who has a food allergy and that social circle of food allergic friends continues to grow through childhood, and even adulthood. Now it seems more of my friends are facing adult onset food allergies. But, it’s still a journey to get others to understand managing food allergies and taking food avoidance practices seriously. Tune in and join me on this journey to better understand how food allergies affect all of us. Stop an #EmergingEpidemic.