Foods and allergies related?

I have had many conversations with several friends regarding opinions about foods, preservatives and allergies being related.  I don't know about you but the amount of people who are now allergic to things seems to have sky rocketed over the years!  10 years ago you didn't hear about people being Gluten Free.  Now it's seems to be the latest "fad".  And please do not read that wrong, it is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone who is Gluten Free.  I do believe that the allergies exist, but why all of a sudden are they existing?  Is it because technology has improved?  Possibly.  Is it because we are filling our bodies with TONS of processed crap?  Probably!  It could be a combination of both, but lets face it; did our Grandparents have to worry about the amount of processed foods they were eating?  I don't know about yours, but I know that my Grandmother canned her own food, made her own jellies and eating out was something that was done once in a blue moon.  Now a days it seems like there's a restaurant or fast food joint on every corner.  People wonder why or how obesity can be so dominant in our society.  I read an article on Facebook about "scary food additives".  It made me start thinking about the foods that we have been eating.  It's scary to think about what we put into our bodies.  Needless to say we will be eating more organic foods and I will be reading labels closer than I was before.  Not only will I be looking at the calories and fat but I will be looking at all the ingredients as well.  If there are more than 5 ingredients and words that I can't pronounce then I won't be buying it, let alone eating it.
Below are a few articles that you might find interesting about the different artificial additives that you can find in your foods.  It's hard to determine what articles are accurate, but after reading a few of them quite a bit of the information is the same from article to article.  I am just your average person who has done a little bit of research.

I have many opinions about the foods that are considered "ok" by our FDA....  but for now I will keep those opinions to myself.  I do think that we need to educate ourselves and not just accept what we are told or made to believe.
(Remember I am not a Dr. or a nurse and that all of this is my opinion.)

Do research and think for yourself!  Here's to reading labels!

http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/the-dirty-dozen-12-foodsfood-additives-to-avoid-and-why/

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/370945-health-effects-of-yellow-5-food-coloring/

http://www.cspinet.org/olestra/11cons.html

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Winter is still lingering....  Here's pictures from today!  Hopefully it's sunny where ever you are, and think of me! :)
The first picture is when the snow started this morning, the 2nd picture is 4 hours later and the 3rd picture is while we were out and about.  Hard to believe that most of the roads were totally clear yesterday!  (Mother Nature is playing cruel cruel jokes!)