Midwest Allergy Research Institute

MARI is bringing together the top food allergy institutions to ensure that patients with food allergies have access to state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment, short as well as long-term care and research that addresses factors from discovery to application along the entire clinical and translational spectrum.

Raising the quality of care for food allergy patients throughout the Chicagoland area

Reduce discrepancies in care among providers

Make comprehensive care accessible and available for all food allergic patients

Investigating the biology of food allergy to develop new therapies and new diagnostics for food allergy

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to food allergy awareness, education, research, and advocacy. FARE provides information, programs, and resources about food allergies and anaphylaxis. MARI is proud to be sponsored by FARE.

An estimated 32 million Americans have food allergies, or nearly 10 percent of the population. This number is 10 times the prevalence reported 35 years ago. Over the last decade, food allergies have been increasing at a staggering rate, with a 50% rise in prevalence among children alone.

Peanut allergy in children has increased more than 20 percent since 2010, and that nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have an allergy to peanuts.

Cow’s milk allergy is among the most common food allergy in early childhood, with an estimated prevalence of 2 to 3 percent.

Experts estimate that as many as 2 percent of children are allergic to eggs. Fortunately, studies show that about 70 percent of children with an egg allergy will outgrow the condition by age 16.

Tree nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. Tree nut allergy is one of the eight most common food allergies, affecting roughly 0.5 to 1% of the U.S. population.

Unlike allergies to egg and cow’s milk for which children often gradually acquire, shellfish allergies are usually lifelong. About 60 percent of people with shellfish allergy experience their first allergic reaction as adults.

Wheat allergy is most common in children and is usually outgrown before adulthood. Two-thirds of children with a wheat allergy outgrow it by age 12.

A member of the legume family, soy is a common ingredient in infant formulas and many other processed foods. In young children, soy is one of the most common food allergens. Typically, allergic reactions first appear in infants and young children under 3, and many outgrow the allergy by during childhood.