Pesticides in Tap Water Linked to Food Allergies

As food allergies become increasingly common, a new study offers the first proof that they may be linked to pesticides found in tap water. Researchers at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology used existing government data to see whether people with more dichlorophenols in their urine were more likely to have food allergies. Dichlorophenols are a kind of chlorine in certain pesticides that are known to kill bacteria, and in theory, they could be killing the naturally occurring bacteria in humans’ digestive systems, causing food allergies.

When researchers have compared bacteria from the bowel in healthy kids versus bacteria in the bowel for kids that have lot of allergies, they’ve noticed a big difference. The number of children and teens with food or digestive allergies in the United States has increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 3 million people under 18 years old. While the study does not allow concluding that pesticides are responsible for the allergies, it certainly raises the possibility and justifies pursuing the kinds of studies that can help sort of if these pesticides are, indeed, the cause. The research is still too preliminary to suggest that Americans should change  their eating or drinking habits.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/12/03/pesticides-in-tap-water-linked-to-food-allergies/