My brother is deathly allergic to hazelnuts. I remember the day we found out. I was at a friend’s house and my mom called saying they were rushing to the hospital because my brother couldn’t breathe but “don’t worry.” How I wasn’t supposed to worry, I don’t know, but when I met them at the hospital he was ok. His back however, was not. Spread across his back were red dots, some minuscule and some very visible. He was getting an allergy test and the biggest dot: hazelnut. The doctor’s connected the dots and figured that the Nutella (chocolate and hazelnut crème) crepe he ate hours before was the culprit. Thankfully he got to the hospital time, because as we found out, allergies are nothing to joke about.
Unfortunately, the American Academy of Pediatrics apparently made a big mistake when advising parents in 2000 to keep peanuts far away from infants and toddlers. Researchers released findings at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting in February that children who were exposed to peanuts at least three times a week were seven times less likely to develop a peanut allergy than children who were not exposed to them in their first five years of life. This trial gives more backing to the idea of hygiene hypothesis. It claims that in today’s world, children are exposed to far less germs and bacteria necessary to build a strong immune system because of the super-clean world we live in. Antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfectants are making children’s immune systems susceptible to less and less foreign invaders.
This idea is further highlighted in a study from Sweden published in February. The study claims that parents who wash dishes by hand are less likely to have kids with allergies. Dr. Bill Hesselmar at the University of Gothenburg and his team studied data from the 2007 Sweden survey and found that overall, washing dishes by hand was tied to a 43% reduced risk of allergies. The study found that additionally, 2% of kids in homes that hand washed had asthma compared to 7% in households that use washer machines. The same goes for children with eczema, with about 23% of children having it from hand-washing households compared to 38% in dishwasher machine households.
In 2015 the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America conducted a peanut allergy study, Learning Early about Peanut Allergy (LEAP). Dr. Tammy Jacobs, certified position and head of the study, was curious about an interesting fact regarding Jewish children: in the UK, they were ten times as likely to develop a peanut allergy as Israeli children of similar ancestry. Since this strayed from the hypothesis that genetics was the sole factor in allergies, researchers found this curious. Their findings discovered that Israeli children consumed a steady diet of peanut protein at only seven months and that UK children were exposed much later.
The idea that genetics are the sole factor in allergies was debunked even further in a 2015 study also release at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology annual meeting. Here, Dr. Matthew Greenhawk, introduced his findings that he and his team at University of Michigan found. The team worked with 1,120 children who have siblings with documented food allergies. While 53% had food sensitivity, only 13% had an actual food allergy.
As the years go by and many of us begin to have to children, after reading these studies I’d advise using the incremental introduction method with your children when it comes to foods. Many scientists believe that by doing so you will ease your children into having little to no food allergies. However, if they have an immediate poor reaction, take them to a doctor. While these methods may work for some, other children may be genetically incapable of handling some foods. Nowadays, many elementary schools have become peanut free due to the allergies of some students. Do not let this discourage your future children, as introducing them young may eliminate the unfortunate need to keep away from these tasty nuts.
Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-peanut-allergy-leap-study-20150223-story.html#page=1
http://www.heraldextra.com/momclick/health-and-fitness/health-and-wellness-column/leaps-and-bounds-a-new-study-could-change-the-peanut/article_738275e7-31a3-53bd-b7ba-d33787fa99cb.html
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/11/05/Study-Siblings-unlikely-to-share-the-same-food-allergies/4631446735057/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/washing-dishes-by-hand-linked-to-fewer-allergies-in-kids-1.2968512