Peanut
allergies are difficult to live with, and can sometimes be
deadly. There are more than 30,000 emergency
room visits a year due to peanut allergy reactions. Last year, 2,000
people are admitted due to peanut allergies, with 150-200 dying from
anaphylactic shock. Some children have
such strong peanut allergies that they can react to a peanut smell alone.
Keeping a peanut free house and
peanut free classroom
is often not just
important, but literally life-saving.
In the last five years, the
prevalence of peanut allergies has doubled. It is
recommended that children are not
introduced
to peanuts before the age of three. Early exposure can actually cause the
beginning of a food allergy. When a baby is small, his gut is more
porous, causing food proteins to leak into the bloodstream. The baby's
body will not know if these proteins are "friend or foe," and may attack them,
causing an allergic reaction to the food. Breastfeeding mothers are urged
to avoid all peanut products while nursing their babies.
Many processed foods today
contain peanuts. Parents of peanut allergic children must read every label
of every food item they buy. Unfortunately, not every peanut containing
product is clearly labeled. Peanuts can be hidden in many unexpected foods
and food additives.
Living Safely with a Peanut Allergy
It is unfortunate that peanuts can be found in a wide variety of both products
and household items on the market today.
Click
here for a list of ingredients and items to avoid.
Peanut Warning
Whether your child is allergic to peanuts, or you are
allergic yourself - you take every precaution to avoid exposure to nuts.
But sometimes even the most careful find themselves face to face with an
allergen. Today we experienced just that. My daughter and I were
planting young tomato plants we had purchased from a hardware store.
Sitting in the garden digging in our own dirt seemed completely harmless.
That is, until I reached for one of the small plants and saw half of a peanut
shell just under the dirt in the pot.
Keep this in mind if you are starting your own garden.
If you are able, it is best to start your plants from seeds, using your own dirt
in clean containers. There is a risk of exposure to peanuts using
pre-potted plants purchased in hardware stores and garden centers. Better
safe than sorry!
Allergy Free Peanuts
It may be possible that our future will hold an
allergen-free peanut. At least that is the hope of North Carolina researchers,
who recently found a way to process what appears to be harmless peanuts. And for
the 3 million people alone in the United States who are allergic to peanuts,
this would come as a welcome surprise.
Legume testing has been underway at the North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University. Results show that one hundred percent of the
allergens in roasted whole peanuts were virtually eliminated. These "allergy
free peanuts" were given to peanut allergic individuals, whose blood tests
showed no sign of reaction to these nuts. Furthermore, the taste of these
allergen free peanuts is just as rich as the real ones.
Will this be the answer to peanut allergy sufferers everywhere? The jury is
still out. But there are high hopes that allergen-free peanuts will bring relief
to millions in the future.
