spared any ethnicity,the rates were initially different in various groups,and all have been rising. Asthma is often triggered by something in the environment such as tobacco smoke,mold,air pollution,cockroach leavings,colds,and flu Once an attack begins,asthmatics gasp for air and,without quick medication,are rushed to emergency rooms.Even with the best care,they can die,as did the son of a physician colleague.No economic or social class has been spared. Food allergies are everywhere.A generation ago,peanut allergies were extremely rare.Now,if you stroll through any preschool,you will see walls plastered with"nut-free zone"bulletins.More and more children suffer immune responses to proteins in foods,not just in nuts but in milk,eggs,soy,fish,fruits you name it,someone is allergic to it.Celiac disease,an allergy to gluten,the main protein in wheat flour,is rampant.Ten percent of children suffer from hay fever Eczema,a chronic skin inflammation,affects more than 15 percent of children and 2 percent of adults in the United States.In industrialized nations,the number of kids with eczema has tripled in the past thirty years These disorders suggest that our children are experiencing levels of immune dysfunction never seen before,as well as conditions such as autism,a much discussed and debated modern plague that is a focus of my laboratory.Nor are adults escaping their own share of modern plagues.The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease,including Crohn's and ulcerative colitis,is rising,wherever we 00k When I was a medical student,esophageal reflux,which causes heartburn,was uncommon.But the ailment has exploded in these past forty years,and the cancer it leads to,adenocarcinoma of the esophagus,is the most rapidly increasing cancer in the United States and everywhere else it has been tracked,and is a particularly nasty problem for Caucasian men. Why are all of these maladies rapidly rising at the same time across the developed world and spilling over into the developing world as it becomes more Westernized?Can it be a mere coincidence?If there are ten of these modern plagues,are there ten separate causes?That seems unlikely. Or could there be one underlying cause fueling all these parallel increases?A single cause is easier to grasp;it is simpler,more parsimonious.But what cause could be grand enough to encompass asthma,obesity,esophageal reflux,juvenile diabetes,and allergies to specific foods,among all of the others?Eating too many calories could explain obesity but not asthma;many of the children who suffer from asthma are slim.Air pollution could explain asthma but not food allergies Many theories have been proposed to explain each disorder:lack of sleep makes you fat;vaccines lead to autism;genetically engineered wheat strains are ⊙spared any ethnicity; the rates were initially different in various groups, and all have been rising. Asthma is often triggered by something in the environment such as tobacco smoke, mold, air pollution, cockroach leavings, colds, and flu. Once an attack begins, asthmatics gasp for air and, without quick medication, are rushed to emergency rooms. Even with the best care, they can die, as did the son of a physician colleague. No economic or social class has been spared. Food allergies are everywhere. A generation ago, peanut allergies were extremely rare. Now, if you stroll through any preschool, you will see walls plastered with “nut-free zone” bulletins. More and more children suffer immune responses to proteins in foods, not just in nuts but in milk, eggs, soy, fish, fruits— you name it, someone is allergic to it. Celiac disease, an allergy to gluten, the main protein in wheat flour, is rampant. Ten percent of children suffer from hay fever. Eczema, a chronic skin inflammation, affects more than 15 percent of children and 2 percent of adults in the United States. In industrialized nations, the number of kids with eczema has tripled in the past thirty years. These disorders suggest that our children are experiencing levels of immune dysfunction never seen before, as well as conditions such as autism, a much discussed and debated modern plague that is a focus of my laboratory. Nor are adults escaping their own share of modern plagues. The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, is rising, wherever we look. When I was a medical student, esophageal reflux, which causes heartburn, was uncommon. But the ailment has exploded in these past forty years, and the cancer it leads to, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, is the most rapidly increasing cancer in the United States and everywhere else it has been tracked, and is a particularly nasty problem for Caucasian men. * * * Why are all of these maladies rapidly rising at the same time across the developed world and spilling over into the developing world as it becomes more Westernized? Can it be a mere coincidence? If there are ten of these modern plagues, are there ten separate causes? That seems unlikely. Or could there be one underlying cause fueling all these parallel increases? A single cause is easier to grasp; it is simpler, more parsimonious. But what cause could be grand enough to encompass asthma, obesity, esophageal reflux, juvenile diabetes, and allergies to specific foods, among all of the others? Eating too many calories could explain obesity but not asthma; many of the children who suffer from asthma are slim. Air pollution could explain asthma but not food allergies. Many theories have been proposed to explain each disorder: lack of sleep makes you fat; vaccines lead to autism; genetically engineered wheat strains are 10