Walking Toward a Cure for Life-Threatening Food Allergies

Houston, TX, August 29, 2009 --(PR.com)-- This September, more than 1,500 Houston-area residents are expected to participate in the 2009 Walk For Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure sponsored by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). The goal – to raise $225,000 for food allergy research and education and help the more than 12 million Americans who suffer from food allergies, many of whom live in the Houston area. The forth annual FAAN Walk will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston, 1100 Bagby Street, at 10:00 a.m.

Four percent of the U.S population – or one in 25 Americans – has a serious food allergy, which is the leading cause of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction that results in more than 50,000 emergency room visits each year. The incidence of food allergy is even higher in children, impacting one in 17 children under age three and 3 million children. Eight foods account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions in the United States: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, etc.), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.

“There is no cure for food allergies,” said Houston’s Volunteer Walk Chair Michael Lade and father of a food-allergic child. “Strict avoidance of food allergens is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction, so it’s essential to create awareness of this life-threatening health condition that affects millions across the country.”

Lade continues, “Food allergies not only affect the food allergic individual, but also the family, friends and classmates of the individual. Increased understanding of the severity of food allergies is essential for safety, acceptance and emotional stability of these children.”

KPRC news anchor Dominique Sachse again serves as Honorary Chair for the Walk in Houston. Country-music star Trace Adkins holds the position of the National Honorary Chair for the national FAAN Walk series. As an active member of FAAN, Adkins knows first-hand the serious nature of food allergies due to his daughter’s peanut allergy diagnosis following a severe reaction to peanut butter several years ago.

Last year, nearly 1,200 Houstonians participated in the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure and raised $215,000 for food allergy research and education, ranking it as the top fundraising walk amongst 25 walks nationwide. The FAAN Walk is non-competitive – a distance of 2.5 miles – and participation is free. For more information and to register for the family-friendly walk, visit www.foodallergywalk.org/houston_tx.

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About FAAN
Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially fatal condition that afflicts approximately 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it. For more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org, www.faankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.