Huge increase in food allergies in Australia may be due to low vitamin D

Hypothesis: adolescent allergies associated with low vitamin D levels

Allergy statistics for many countries, not just Australia

• 5X increase in hospital admissions due to food allergies in children 1994-2005
• eczema and hay fever up 3X in past 30 years

Overview Asthma and Vitamin D

• There appears to be strong evidence that increasing vitamin D decreases asthma
• Australia had a huge increase in Asthma in the 90’s (perhaps also due to low levels of vitamin D)

11 new reasons for vitamin D deficiency in the past 30-40 years Australia has several of them

• 1) Air conditioning - to avoid the intense UV from the sun
• 5) Want whiter skin - avoid dark skin color of the native Australians
• 6) Fear skin cancer – when should fear skin burn and fear lack of vitamin D
  • Australia has been the sunscreen capital of the world for the past 4 decades

Food allergy epidemic in Australia June 2011

• 10% in Australia as compared with 5% elsewhere

Allergy Capital updated April 2011

• 19.6% of the population had at least one allergic disease
• The highest prevalence of allergies is in the working age population, with 78% of people with allergies aged 15 to 64 years;
• Average of 1.74 simultaneous allergies per person
• Allergic rhinitis (hay fever) currently affects
  • 1/10 children aged 6-7 years
  • 1/6 children aged 13-14 years
  • 2/5 adults
• Asthma currently affects
  • 1/5 children
  • 1/10 adults
• Eczema currently affects
  • 1/6 children aged 6-7 years
  • 1/10 children aged 13-14 years
  • 1/14 adults

Australia: world's food allergy capital? Sidney Morning Herald - July 17, 2011

• This is the article which caused this webpage to be made

---

See also Vitamin D Life

• Hypothesis – Australia has highest rate of food allergy due to avoiding the sun – Sept 2015
• All items in Autoimmune and Vitamin D 164 items
• Half of Australian office workers insufficient vitamin D in the winter – Jan 2011
• 73 percent of Australians had too little vitamin D a decade ago – Dec 2011
• Australia is considering cutting vitamin D testing – March 2011
  • Problem: 100X increase in vitamin D tests in a decade ==> increased costs
  • Solution: make the tests harder to get
• Diabetes rising quickly in areas with recent air conditioning – June 2011
• Air Conditioning probably has decreased vitamin D
• Asthma Eczema and Vitamin D - Council Newsletter Oct 2010
• Vitamin D best treatment for acne
• Most Australian GPs still believe the myth than 10 minutes of sun a day is enough – June 2011
• Big increases in Myopia around the world recently
  • US 3 decades: Myopia 1.7X increase, nearsightedness 2.0X increase, blacks: 2.6X increase
  • Singapore 4 decade Myopia 3.6X increase
• The increasing prevalence of myopia: implications for Australia PubMed 2001

- - - - - - - - -

Personal note by the Admin of Vitamin D Life

I wrote a booklet on Allergies in the 1980's
- - - - - - - - - - - -

CLICK ON chart for more information and text for translation