Is your gut making hay fever, seasonal allergies, eczema and food intolerances worse? Here are 5 ways to fight back | Prof. Adam Fox

Allergies have tripled - with hay fever, seasonal allergies, eczema and food intolerances now affecting millions of people. But why are allergy symptoms getting worse, and what does gut health have to do with it?

In this episode, Adam Fox, a world-leading allergy Professor at King’s College London, explains why allergies may be rising so fast, why many beliefs about allergies are wrong, and what new science reveals about your immune system, skin and gut.

Professor Fox explores why some foods are more likely to trigger reactions, and why modern allergy science is increasingly focused on gut health. Adam also discusses why 90% of people told they are allergic to certain things may not actually be allergic, the difference between allergies and intolerances, and why some antihistamines may be doing you more harm than you realise.

By the end of this episode, you will have some practical ways to manage hay fever and seasonal allergies, including which antihistamines experts now recommend avoiding, simple ways to reduce pollen exposure at home, and when allergy testing or desensitisation treatment may help. Adam explains how newer treatments are starting to retrain the immune system rather than simply suppress symptoms.

If allergies barely existed a few hundred years ago, what changed? And could your gut now be shaping the way your immune system reacts to the world around you?

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Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:19 Why peanut allergies became so common in children

08:05 Why allergies are different in every country

10:00 The hidden link between eczema and food allergies

11:14 Your gut and skin train your immune system differently

12:42 What eczema actually does to your immune system

15:15 Did hay fever barely exist 200 years ago?

17:36 Why hay fever can seriously affect your life

18:11 Hay fever may affect exam results and work performance

20:20 Most people diagnosed with penicillin allergy may not have it

22:30 90% of penicillin allergies may be wrong

25:52 The hygiene hypothesis may not explain allergies after all

28:10 The microbiome connection scientists can’t ignore

31:24 The mouse experiment that changed allergy science

34:05 The eating pattern linked to fewer allergies in children

36:35 Food allergy vs food intolerance - what’s the difference?

39:51 What anaphylaxis actually feels like in the body

43:43 Gluten allergy, celiac disease and gluten sensitivity explained

47:49 Why allergy blood tests can give misleading results

49:46 The new treatment changing peanut allergy care

52:41 5 science-backed ways to reduce hay fever symptoms

55:16 The antihistamines some doctors now avoid

56:40 The future of allergy treatment is changing fast

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

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Free resources from ZOE

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Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks

Better Breakfast Guide

Mentioned in today's episode

Professor Adam Fox OBE uses Instagram to share clear bite-sized insights on children’s allergies, eczema & other allergic diseases - Follow at @DrAdamFox

Rising Trends in Food Allergies, The Lancet (2024)

Pollen exposure and exam performance, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2026)

Almost nine in ten patients labelled allergic to penicillin had no allergy, The Lancet (2025)

Risk Factors for the Development of Food Allergy, JAMA (2026)

Food Allergy and the Microbiome, Current Research in Microbial Sciences (2025)

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Episode transcripts are available here.