Allergy-Friendly Granola Bars
Why Seeds?
THE ALLERGEN EPIDEMIC
I was inspired to make my allergy-friendly granola bars because my oldest son is a statistic. Today, approximately 32 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.6 million children under age 18. That's one in 13 children, or roughly two in every classroom.
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90% of people affected by food allergies or sensitivities are triggered by just eight foods: tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, and wheat. Making an allergy-friendly granola bar was something I knew I needed to do. Not just for him, but for everyone who has dealt with the allergies like he does.
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Over the past 3 decades, the increase in food allergy, as measured by hospitalizations and self-report, can only be described as explosive. For example, a study from the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at New York's Mount Sinai hospital found that peanut allergies more than tripled between 1997 and 2008.
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"It really is almost an epidemic,” Dr. Scott Sicherer, the institute’s director, told CNBC’s “On the Money. It’s not just peanuts, though, with Sicherer citing milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and other nuts as being among the most common allergies. “They account for most of the food allergies, but you can be allergic to almost any food,” he said.
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The ultimate goal is a full-fledged cure, the doctor said. “But in the meantime, safety is really a big part of it. When you’re living with a food allergy, it’s like you’re living in a landmine situation,” he added. “Every meal, every snack, every party, every social activity — is that food that can hurt me going to be there?”
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That's why at Ommie Snacks we take food allergies seriously. We make delicious allergy-friendly granola bars safe for people with food allergies and sensitivities, and those without them.