Dichlorophenols and Food Allergies

Food allergies are on the increase in the US and Europe, and nobody knows why. Its quite mysterious, really; why, after 10,000 years of living on wheat, are Europeans and Euro-Americans becoming allergic to gluten?

This mystery has led some scientists to investigate whether there might be an environmental cause. Could some of the weird chemicals we are now exposed to be responsible? Maybe. A new study published this week found a strong correlation between food allergies and exposure to dichlorophenols. These chemicals are found in many pesticides and are also used to chlorinate water, so we are all exposed to them.

I am far from convinced, but if some combination of chemicals is not responsible, what could be?