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Sat 8 Apr, 2006 05:22 pm
So what is the deal with peanut allergies?
I was talking to my neighbor and she had read some recent health alert saying you shouldn't give a child under three peanut butter and that they are now telling nursing mothers not to eat peanut butter either.
I was in high school before I ever knew anyone or had heard of anyone having a peanut allergy.
Now you hear about it all of the time - crazy things like how being in the same building with a peanut will kill some kids.
Is this a new allergy epidemic or what?
What accounts for all of the horrible peanut allergies you hear about these days?
This has come about by changing the name from Goobers Peas to peanuts. Interestingly enough, when Aligator Pears had their name changed to avocados it had the opposit effect. People who had been deathly alergic to aligator pears could suddenly eat avocados with relish. (or without relish as to thier preference) I eat mine with a bit of salt and pepper and I like my peanuts salted/roasted. I eat both of these items while sitting at my frount window wathcih the little children playing in the refridge I placed int eh front yard.
That's a good question Boomer. I don't have allergies to peanuts, but I know some people who do and I don't ever remember hearing about these allergies when I was a kid.
I think about all the people with asthma these days and I wonder about this stuff as well.
With all the chemicals they put in the food today and when you add all the pollution, it has to have an effect on our health. Of course that's just my opinion, but I've thought a lot about the enviornment since as far back as I can remember and I don't like what I'm reading on ingredients I'm seeing on food products. I can't pronounce half the stuff, never mind know what it is.
They're putting poision in tobacco products and they spray our food crops with poision.
Maybe they're spraying the nuts with something that's causing these allergies.
I was way off, lol.
"What is peanut allergy?
Some people are allergic to proteins found in peanuts. These proteins are not destroyed by cooking so both fresh and cooked and roasted peanuts can cause an allergic reaction."
From a previous discussion...
J_B wrote:J_B wrote:I recently heard that peanut allergy has the fastest growing allergy incidence in America. I wonder why that is?
Is it vain to quote oneself?
Here's what I found. The prevalence of peanut allergies increased two-fold between 1997 - 2002 among children. The rate of increase was not significantly different in adults but was significant in children.
Quote:Although the rate of peanut allergy, tree nut allergy, or both was not significantly different from 1997 to 2002 among adults, the rate increased from 0.6% to 1.2% among children, primarily as a result of an increase in reported allergy to peanut (0.4% in 1997 [12 of 2998] to 0.8% [26 of 3127] in 2002).198
2. The second article is by Kagan, et al, entitled Prevalence of peanut allergy in primary-school children in Montral, Canada. The prevalence of peanut allergy was estimated by administering questionnaires re peanut allergy to children in kindergarten through grade 3 in randomly selected schools. The respondants were stratified as follows: (1) peanut tolerant, (2) never-rarely ingest peanut, (3) convincing history of peanut allergy, and (4) uncertain history of peanut allergy. Groups 2, 3, and 4 underwent peanut skin prick tests (SPTs), and if the responses were positive in groups 2 or 4, measurement of peanut-specific IgE were undertaken. Children in group 3 with a positiv SPT response were considered allergic to peanut without further testing. Children in groups 2 and 4 with peanut-specific IgE levels of less than 15kU/l underwent oral peanut challenges.
http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm#increase
Quote:Researchers believe there are several reasons for increased rates of peanut allergy in children:
* The increased allergenicity of peanuts when roasted.
* Children eating peanuts when their immune systems are immature.
* The use of topical ointments containing peanut and the use of soy formulas.
http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/articles/peanut.html
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1700340#1700340
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