Chlorinated Tap Water Now Linked to Global Food Allergy Epidemic

Food Freedom News
December 5, 2012

By Lawrence LeBlond
Globalist Report

Chlorine has long been added to tap water in many communities to ensure it is free of bugs and bacteria. The chemical is also found in many other household items, as well as in pesticides that are often used to treat produce.

New research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York has now found evidence that the use of chlorine is associated with a rising number of people with food allergies.

Researchers found adults with high levels of dichlorophenol (a chemical by-product of chlorine) in their urine, were as much as 80 percent more likely to also have a food allergy. That’s a shocking find; especially when upwards of 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies.

Lead study author Elina Jerschow, assistant professor of allergy and immunology at Einstein, said the research “shows that high levels of dichlorophenol-containing pesticides can possibly weaken food tolerance in some people, causing food allergy.”

She noted that past studies “have shown that both food allergies and environmental pollution are increasing in the United States” and the “results of our study suggest these two trends might be linked, and that increased use of pesticides and other chemicals is associated with a higher prevalence of food allergies.”

As for chlorinated tap water, Jerschow said that switching to bottled water as a way to reduce the risk of developing a food allergy may not prove successful. “Other dichlorophenol sources, such as pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables, may play a greater role in causing food allergy,” she added.

Jerschow’s study looked at 10,348 participants in a US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005-2006.

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