---
title: Pesticide Exposure May Lead To Food Allergies
date: 2012-12-07T05:05:12Z
modified: 2012-12-07T05:05:12Z
permalink: "https://elizabethyarnell.com/pesticide-exposure-lead-food-allergies/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 2764
categories:
  - Food Sensitivities
  - Living Naturally
  - Nutrition in the News
tags:
  - cancer in golfers
  - chemicals in tap water
  - dichlorophenols
  - food sensitivites
  - pesticides and allergies
author: Elizabeth
---

Food allergy in children increased 18 percent in the United States between 1997 and 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One theory is that chemicals in pesticides and tap water may play a role in how we lose tolerance and become reactive.

[HealthDay News ](http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=671165 "healthday news chemicals cause allergies")reports on a new study out this month in the _Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology_ that shares results from a study of 2,200 Americans aged 6 and older. The researchers found that those with sensitivity to one or more foods had higher levels of dichlorophenols in their urine compared to people without such allergies.

Dichlorophenols are found in commonly-used pesticides on produce and in lawn care, as residue on conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables, and in our tap water. In short, we are exposed to these chemicals at every turn. Other studies have linked [pesticide exposure in golfers to breast cancer](Alexa Traffic Rank for http://silentspring.org/pdf/our_publications/SSIWinterReview02.pdf: 3973541http://silentspring.org/pdf/our_publications/SSIWinterReview02.pdf "pesticide exposure linked to cancer").

What can we do to avoid exposure? Avoid freshly-treated lawns, stick to organic fruits and vegetables, and [filter all the water going into your home](http://elizabethyarnell.com/effortlesseating/2008/04/de-chlorinated-water/ "whole house water filter"), or, at the very least, [filter your drinking water](http://elizabethyarnell.com/effortlesseating/2008/12/why-drink-water-lose-weight-save-money-save-the-planet/ "Nikken water filter").