Are Low Allergy Peanuts the Answer to Rising Peanut Allergy Rates in Kids?
by Julie Seguss, 06/14/10
Scientists with the USDA are working to create a peanut with a significantly lower risk for allergic reaction. So far, this quest for an allergy-free peanut, which uses conventional breeding techniques rather than genetic modification, has resulted in a breed that’s missing some of the compounds known to cause allergic reactions. The hope is to produce a peanut lacking all or most of the major allergens. But is taking the allergens out of peanuts really the answer to the country’s growing nut allergy problem?
A recently released study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York surveyed food allergies of the general US population three times over an 11 year period. The results suggest that tree nut and peanut allergies have tripled since 1997 and now between one and two percent of US children are allergic. In 2008, researchers polled parents in 5,800 households and found that 1.4 percent of kids under 18 had a peanut allergy. Another similar study from McGill University in Montreal found comparable allergy rates.
Even though allergy rates of one to two percent are low, they appear to be on the rise and scientists don’t know why. So while a the prospect of an allergy-free peanut is promising, the real issue at hand may be the increase in the allergies.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researcher Scot Sicherer believes processing may be to blame for the rising allergy rates and roasted peanuts may be a bigger trigger. Others believe nut allergies could be related to our hyper-clean lifestyles including the use of antibacterial soaps that reduce exposure to germs early on in life, possibly affecting the immune system.
Reactions range from mild rashes to severe, life-threatening anaphylactic shock, so for peanut allergy sufferers, an allergy-free option may sound like a good idea–especially since some reactions may occur just from being around those eating nut products.
In the past, scientists have worked on creating allergy-free genetically modified peanuts, but as concern grows over the safety of GMO foods, we’re happy to see USDA scientists using conventional breeding methods to find an answer.
Researchers studied more than 900 types of peanuts to find genetic mutations showing little or no allergens. They hope to breed a variety that will reduce both the severity and development of peanut allergies.
Image: Stevendepolo
NO they are Not the answer…..I think this issue is so much deeper than just peanuts….Think about the rates of these diseases/allergies in Americans right now and they are increasing at an alarming rate! You don’t see this stuff occurring in other cultures like it is here.
food allergies such as peanuts, soy, milk protein (and lactose), gluten, wheat, eggs
diseases and conditions such as diabetes, eczema, asthma (sudden onset), seasonal allergies, autism, chronic constipation or diarrhea, IBS. childhood cancer/tumors,
look at our rates of infant formula (artificial milk) use, amount of vaccines especially in newborns/infants as that is when most of the “damage” is done by vaccines, unnecessary interventions during child birth, pharmaceutical use during pregnancy, look at our amounts of GMO foods consumed, high fructose corn syrup, and other complete GARBAGE foods, lead and mercury contamination in our foods and water and dental fixtures, BPA and other chemicals used in our food containers, Styrofoam/polystyrene is toxic yet we EAT off of it!!!, fluoride (which is a chemical waste by-product, it is toxic waste!)
BABIES are being fed rice cereal and other garbage at 4 MONTHS OLD!!! their bodies are designed for BREAST MILK, PERIOD, THIS is causing their poor little bodies to turn on itself, it’s immature gut lining which is left open to be able to absorb quickly and efficiently all of the goodness breast milk offers, However, when foreign foods are introduced into their open gut, the immune system kicks in and creates antibodies against them, there fore creating ALLERGIES to these foods, which in turn causes the body to continue to reject other foods as well…hence why you see a child who is allergic to one thing is usually allergic to MANY other things as well. see this article regarding delay of solid foods and allergies http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html
Children these days are eating nutritionally void foods, more so they are eating toxic garbage, full of nitrates/nitrites, chemical preservatives/additives/flavorings/colorings etc.., pesticides/chemical fertilizers, foods grown in soils that have 0 nutrients/life left in it, all sorts of chemicals and rancid oils, meats that are raised in filth, vegetables that are practically void in flavor and nutrients and are grown in toxic waste (sewage sludge!) and where farm workers are increasingly being left without food/water or restrooms/cleaning stations which is causing a rise in salmonella/ecoli infected fruits and veggies, so then they “wash” the veggies in more toxic chemicals and zap it with RADIATION which kills what tiny bit of nutrients there might have been, GMO foods which supposedly are to cause farmers to use LESS pesticides but in actuality they use MORE and further more GMO’s have been shown to cause harm to our bodies. A typical Kids menu these days consist of processed food garbage, HOT DOGS, CHICKEN NUGGETS, SUGAR WATER (ie. JUICE), SODA, FRUIT LOOPS, GRILLED CHEESE, OREOS, POTATO CHIPS, FRENCH FRIES, FAST FOOD BURGERS, popsicles and ice cream full of junk, maybe oatmeal but sure to be loaded with sugar, and maybe apples or carrots, which aren’t very nutritionally dense either and are high in sugar and carbohydrates, Candy out the yin yang (I am astounded at the CANDY people feed their TODDLERS and BABIES!!!) let’s not even talk about school lunches and vending machines. No wonder kids are all hyped up and have “A.D.D./A.D.H.D.”, and are alarmingly being diagnosed with “mental disorders!!”
Look at our infant mortality rate…it is pretty sad considering how “progressed” our country is, you’d think we would be doing a better job, but the fact that our c-sec rate has increased every year since the mid 90′s and the fact that vaccines are increased every year means kids are getting less of the needed immune protection from birth (and the fact that a vaginal birth prepares a child’s airways properly that a c-sec cannot do and then the child is given tons of oxygen and suctioned over and over causes massive damage to the infants respiratory system) Why do you think those babies are so susceptible to things like rsv and then come to have chronic asthma, look at all the other unnecessary interventions which nature provided us to make our entry into this world safe and protected, and yet every day women and babies are stripped of these very things and the children are suffering.
how about our rates of infertility
I think it is absolutely absurd and astounding that “scientists don’t know why…” this stuff is happening, it is right in front of their faces and they refuse to acknowledge it.
Now look at this oil disaster in the Gulf and now one in Salt Lake city! We have got to reduce our dependence on oil and petroleum products if we want to have a safer world. We “sanitize” our houses (with toxic chemicals) which removes ALL of the GOOD germs and bacteria that is there to protect us from the bad ones. The chemicals we use in our homes are damaging to our respiratory system which also damages the immune system especially when those with compromised respiratory systems get sick they just stay on a downward path of illness. We are cleaning our bodies and hair with chemicals then slather on more chemicals since it has now dried out our skin or due to the other skin issues caused by our terrible diets, slather/spray on chemicals to make us look pretty and “smell” good, eat out of plastic and toss it in the trash….not only are we polluting our bodies we are polluting our world which is polluting our food and animals and the air we breathe.
SO yeah these days it’s pretty much a crap shoot even if you DO try to eat healthy and not use toxic products or inject toxic waste into your kids….you are still surrounded by the filth we have left our world in. :/ it’s a sad state of affairs and I’m not really sure we can over come it, but I’m going to try.