Why So Many Food Allergies? :

It's a struggle to get my young child to eat healthy. Many times I am successful - and I congratulate myself on a another job well done.

Then later I find the chewed-up spat-out morsel lying on the ground outside.

At least I tried, and at least she tried - before deciding it tasted just a little bit "too healthy".

She does like nuts however: at last a good snack food to take to school.

But wait... One of the kids in the class has an allergy...

The letter is sent out to parents: "You must not give your child ANY kind of nut. There is a child with a nut allergy in the class."

And so it seems to go - every term, every semester.

It's a fair call - no parent would want to put any other child at risk - but it seems to me allergies (including severe allergies) are becoming all too common.

A British boy - Tylor - made it into the news because of his food allergies. Here is what he can eat:

Chicken, grapes, tuna, carrots, apples and potatoes.

Not a bad diet for a 12 year old. But the poor boy has been through a rough time

By the time he was 10, Tylor’s situation was desperate. He was passing out, going into convulsions and passing blood from both ends of his digestive tract. His weight was down to less than 50 pounds, his growth stunted, his body little more than skin and bones.

He was finally diagnosed with an allergy to almost anything: including wheat, gluten, dairy products, eggs and soy products.

So what's the rub? Are food allergies on the increase? Why?

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