Being back in the dining halls after break has made me really notice how many dietary restrictions people have. Post-finals, checking my fridge every couple of hours and munching on whatever was in there became a sort of second nature. I have the privilege to walk around the dining halls with that mentality, having no allergies or sensitivities, but a simple look around any of Columbia’s dining halls will reveal that food is not uniform. We are lucky to have completely separate fridges filled with gluten free foods and at least four different dairy free milks.
Times like these really get me thinking about cavemen. What did they do if someone had an allergic reaction to peanuts? Die? The short answer is yes. Allergic reactions have always been present among humans, but they were way less common than they are now. The earliest written report of an allergic reaction was of Egypt’s King Menses, who had a fatal allergic reaction to a wasp sting. In fact, many royals, emperors, and patrons in antiquity had been known to have allergies before physicians knew what allergies were. Allergic reactions to foods were often assumed to be the result of poison, or even curses placed upon humans through food.
It was only in the 19th century when physicians began classifying symptoms as allergic reactions. This began with the Hay Fever epidemic, where allergic responses to Hay Fever allergens had become so common in Europe and North America that researchers began to notice commonalities with other allergic response symptoms. In fact, Hay Fever brought forth the definition of an allergy in 1859, when community members began experiencing cold symptoms in the middle of a summer. Allergies were henceforth defined as “an exaggerated response from the body’s immune system to otherwise inert substances present in the environment,” . In other words, our bodies are making a big deal out of nothing.
So, why do allergies seem more common now than ever? I used to think that throughout history, humans were only exposed to foods from certain regions or environments, and were able to process those foods smoothly. Nowadays, where people can eat food from anywhere in the world at any time of year, things get complicated. Since our bodies may not be used to foreign foods, we react. In my mind, this was a regressive process. Theoretically, this hypothesis makes sense, but it’s not quite right. In fact, the prevalence of allergies in today’s society actually reflects extremely successful evolution. Our bodies have gotten so good at protecting ourselves from threat over time that we now react to foods that pose no danger to us.
The great thing is that public health education has made allergy protection widely understood, and most food halls now come equipped with epi-pens and antihistamines, plus nowadays, there are substitutions for virtually any food. It seems like a win-win situation: our bodies have gotten almost too good at protecting us from threats, and public health measures have been put in place to keep everyone safe from allergic reactions.