Vaccine for nut and other food allergies?

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Nov 20th 2006 @ 1:29PM

Scientists think that a vaccine against food allergies will be available within the next ten years. In the past, 1 in 70 people were reported to have food allergies to items like peanuts, tree nuts like Brazil nuts and cashews, and other serious food allergies. Then doctors started reporting numbers in the 1.6% range. Recently the numbers of people reporting food allergies seem to be in the 5% range. These numbers seem to be increasing, or are they?

Well food allergies may soon be a thing of the past. Scientists are on the verge of being able to create hypo-allergenic versions of the food molecules that cause allergies. These can then be combined with inflammation reducing compounds, to form a safe vaccine to use to desensitize people, and so prevent allergic response. It may take awhile, but our next generation of kids may not have to worry about what their friends are eating for lunch, or kissing someone who ate peanuts earlier that day.

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Filed Under: Science, Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: allergies, america, brazil nuts, BrazilNuts, europe, nuts, peanuts, seeds, tree nuts, vaccine

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-20-2006 @2:14PM Nicole Weston said... I don't think that they have to worry about the peanut kiss now, since it was shown not to be the cause of death, but it's an interesting idea.

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/03/06/peanut-laced-kiss-not-cause-of-death/
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11-20-2006 @4:07PM olivia said... Would this help people with Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance)?
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11-20-2006 @5:00PM Joan said... I wish they would hurry up with a vaccine. My 6 year old grandson is allergic to just about everything, but his main allergy is peanuts and almonds. The doctor just told us not to give him any nuts at all, no matter what kind, just to be sure.

We have to read ingredients of all processed foods because some foods and especially candies are made in the same vat as candies or foods containing nuts. He loves chocolate, but we have to be extremely careful. To our benefit, a lot of the companies put on the box or wrapper, "this product may have been made in a vat where candy/cereals with nuts was produced. Also, if we go to a restaurant with him, we have to ask if they use peanut oil in any of their food. If they do, then we have to leave. The funny thing is the fast food restaurants do not use peanut oil because it is more expensive to cook with, so he is safe when we take him there, but if we want to go out to a regular restaurant, we have to make sure they don't use peanut oil because the results would be tragic.

He can't be the only one allergic to nuts and that is why I can't see how they could have waited this long to come up with a vaccine.
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11-21-2006 @9:47PM calamari said... Of course food allergies are increasing -- once upon a time, children with issues like the peanut allergy would have died young, from a mysterious respiratory ailment. Now they're properly diagnosed and treated. More food allergy survivors = a greater proportion of the population has food allergies. So an increase in numbers is actually GOOD news.

So is an effective vaccine, though I'll bet there'll be people who decide that it's somehow morally or gastronomically impure to use it.
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