Peanuts If you know someone who has a child who is allergic to peanuts, you must eliminate all soy from the diet. Other risk factors are other food allergies, a family history of peanut or soy allergies, a diagnosis of asthma, rhinitis or eczema or a family history of these diseases. Source: Letter from Ingrid Malmheden Yman PhD, Senior Chemist, Sweden National Food Administration to the New Zealand Ministry of Health 30/5/77. Soy goes by many aliases. If you are one of those that checks food labels then food processors are less likely to list “soy” than a technical term such as “textured vegetable protein (TVP)” textured plant protein, hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), vegetable protein concentrate, vegetable oil, vegetable broth, bouillon, natural flavour or mono-diglyceride that do not necessarily but are likely to come from soy. There’s an article on Soy by K.T. Daniel who is the author of “The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favourite Health Food. The author is a board-certified clinical nutritionist. Ref: Ingrid Malmheden Yman PhD, Senior Chemist, Sweden National Food Administration to the New Zealand Ministry of Health 30/5/77
Peanuts Interesting news from Dr. Andy Clark. A team of British scientists have come one step closer to curing nut allergies after a small-scale clinical trial in which they successfully built up children’s tolerance to peanuts. Researchers at Addenbroke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England, gave small daily doses of peanut flour to four children who were severely allergic to peanuts, building up the amount over time. By the end of the trial, each child could ingest at least 10 peanuts without having any reaction which the scientists noted was more than enough to protect against any accidental ingestion through nut-contaminated foods. In the study, published in the journal Allergy, four children were initially given five milligrams of peanut flour mixed into yoghurt. Over the next six months, the dose was increased every fortnight until they could tolerate at least 800 mg — the equivalent of five whole peanuts. The trial is ongoing and 20 children aged seven to 17 are now involved with some able to ingest 12 peanuts a day. However, they must maintain their tolerance by ingesting five peanuts a day, said Andrew Clark, a consultant in paediatric allergy who led the research. “At the moment we know that if they continue to eat five peanuts a day, their tolerance is maintained. If they were to stop, then there is some evidence that tolerance would be lost and they may have a reaction,” he said. They would be monitored for the next three or four years to assess their tolerance levels, Clark said, adding that there was no reason why the clinical trial could not be extended to adults. “For all our participants, a reaction could lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. It’s not a permanent cure, but as long as they go on taking a daily dose they should maintain their tolerance,” he said.
Olive Pollen If you live in an olive-growing area, don’t be surprised if you start sneezing. A recent NZ Medical Journal Reports that pollen from olive trees is a major cause of respiratory allergy in Mediterranean countries causing the same symptoms as hayfever. The species of olive grown for fruit is Olea europea. It’s one of the Oleaceae family that also contains private (Ligustrum) Lilac (Syringa) and Ash (Fraxinus). Of all the family the olive is considered to have the most allergenic pollen.