SC - Allergies in general

[Laura C. Minnick]

Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir wrote:

> Can I ask something, seriously? Why is it that you Americans have all these
> allergies? 
> Please don´t misunderstand me, I´m not saying these allergies aren´t real,
> and I know how dangerous they can be. I´m merely wondering why they seem to
> be so much more common in America than here. Fast food, additives,
> contaminants ...?

My theory? All of the above. I think that we've messed with our
immediate environment so much, particularly with weird chemicals, etc.,
that it has messed up our immune systems. Golly- do you think that
little kids got weirded out from the red dye no.5 in their koolaid at Ye
Olde Day Care Center in Elizabethan England? I don't think so. I also
know that eight or ten years ago I could eat avocado with impunity- but
the last time I ate it (5 years ago?) I hit the early stages of
anaphalactic shock, and my doctor said "Don't do that again." Something
changed. Don't know what. 

I suspect that true food allergies in period simply killed the
unfortunate soul, removing them from the gene pool. And how many
'poisonings' were just bad reactions? Gotta wonder. 

Can someone from Iceland go somewhere else and continue to be so
healthy? Or do things change when you leave? 

Interesting things to ponder. Thanks, Nanna.

'Lainie