A recently published study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center claims that for many people, tree nut allergies may not be life-long problem. Some children appear to outgrow their allergic reactions to tree nuts, as well as peanuts, which are legumes, not nuts. By measuring tree nut antibodies in the blood, scientists can determine the likelihood that such allergies may be only temporary. The study also found that for children allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts, those that outgrew the peanut allergy were more likely to outgrow the tree nut allergy. Those allergic to more than one type of tree nut were less likely to outgrow their allergies, however.The results of the study are published in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. While the JACI site seems to post full articles, the November issue up at the time of publication.
11-13-2005 @3:15PM Anonymoose said... Great article. I recently had myself retested and found that my soy, chocolate, and nut allergies had ALL disappeared. I gained a few new ones, but thankfully none of them are food related.
For those of you allergic to aspirin, also watch out for yellow #5 - apparently they share a similar molecular structure and in some people cause histamine reactions.
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11-13-2005 @11:45PM Evan Anderson said... I don't know that I'd be game to see if my tree nut allergy has gone away. As of about five (5) years ago, by way of a mistakenly placed banana-nut muffin, they were still lurking.
For me, at least, nutty smells and tastes bring on such negative feelings that even if the allergy did go away I'd still eschew nuts.
In the end, though, I'm just thankful that I don't have a peanut allergy. They're so prevalent and would be _so_ difficult to avoid.
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11-14-2005 @2:57AM David Friedland said... It is true that botanically speaking, peanuts are not nuts, but neither are most of the other things we call nuts, like almonds, brazil nuts, pine nuts, and cashews. About the only nuts we eat that are also botanical nuts are walnuts, pecans, and chestnuts. I don't understand why everyone is always quick to point out that peanuts aren't actually "nuts" when most of the things we call nuts aren't nuts either by the same criterion. I guess people are prejudiced against peanuts, and I don't understand why, because I'd take a handful of peanuts over a handful of bitter, mealy brazil nuts any day.
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