Why This Australia City Has Become the Food Allergy Capital of the World

Hot on the heels of being deemed "the world's most liveable" city by The Economist, Melbourne is currently being given a less flattering title, that of the "food allergy capital of the world."

And while the beauty, weather, quality of life, and vibrancy of its restaurant scene make Melbourne a great place to live, its location and climate also make it a prime spot for the prevalence of potentially lethal food allergies.

"Unfortunately Australia does appear to be the food allergy capital of the world with Melbourne leading the way," allergist Katie Allen said at a recent immunology conference, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The reason for this hyperbolic statement, said Allen, is a perfect storm of climate, temperature, diet, and good ol' fashioned fear.

"The further from the equator you live, the higher the risk of food allergy," she said, adding that this supports a growing body of evidence, known as the "vitamin D hypothesis," suggesting that a lack of vitamin D could be responsible for higher allergy rates in children. In other words, because of Melbourne's cooler climate relative to the rest of Australia, children are getting less exposure to sunlight and thus less vitamin D.

Melbourne is also known for being a clean city. But in the realm of allergies, clean isn't necessarily a good thing. As with many urban centers, there is also a tendency for parents to provide a sterile, germ-free environment for their children and impose restrictive diets on their kids.

Allen suggests that instead of depriving children of allergy-causing foods like eggs, milks, and peanuts, parents should be introducing them into their diets as early as six months old, so that their underexposed immune systems do not freak later on in life. "The introduction early is not only safe, it looks like it's protective," she explained.

Finally, much to the chagrin of a lot of urban parents, Allen—whose insights into the causes of food allergies were corroborated by other allergists and immunologists at the Melbourne medical conference—suggested letting their kids have fun in the dirt and play with farm animals.

"The exposure to microbes in the right form, whether it's getting out and playing in the dirt or with dogs or going to farms, appears to be protective and we're just not getting enough of that in the built environment here in Melbourne," Allen concluded.

All of which begs a more practical question; what is the point of living in a city with as much good food as Melbourne if you can't eat half of it?