THE HIGH COST OF FOOD SENSITIVITIES
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In a recently published study, the yearly economic cost of food allergies in allergic American children was found to be over $4,000. Less than 20% of that can be attributed to the actual medical costs. Where is the expense coming from? According to Dr. Ruchi Gupta of Northwestern University in Chicago, most of it is coming from career sacrifices being ‘forced’ upon the parents, who have to change jobs, leave jobs —- essentially giving up income so they can care for the sick child. Dr Gupta recently told the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology that this cost was conservatively estimated at $2,400. This means that Food Allergies cost over 25 billion dollars in America. And this has not even touched on food sensitivities (the most common is GLUTEN), which are far more common than Food Allergies, but can be tougher to diagnose. How many children are affected by these Food Allergies? According to Gupta and his team, between 8 and 10 percent.
