Allergies Research
Diet &
Lifestyle
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Peanut or
Nut Free Diet & Allergies
Reactions to peanuts or nuts can be life threatening. Once diagnosed it is
important that nuts and all sources of nuts are excluded from the diet at
all times.
Peanuts or Nut allergy is considered lifelong so all children with
peanut or nut allergy need to be taught, as they grow older, to learn
about manufacturers information and support groups.
Manufacturers are definitely improving labelling but you still have to
find out a lot about the content of foods yourself. Some foods obviously
contain nuts but in others nuts may be a hidden ingredient. A Peanut is a
member of the LEGUME family and is classified as a VEGETABLE. If you are
allergic to peanuts you may be advised to avoid foods such as peas, beans,
lentils and other legumes, a list of which is given on page 4. High risk
foods should only be introduced with the supervision of a Doctor or
Dietician. Never reintroduce peanuts into the diet without medical
supervision. Always read product labels. Always. Always.
If in doubt of the contents of any product, contact the manufacturer
before trying it.
Nut oils: - Some people who react to peanuts also react to peanut oil.
Peanut oil is sometimes called GROUNDNUT or ARACHIS Oil. Unless you know
that you do not react to peanut oil it should be avoided. Unfortunately,
manufacturers often label foods as containing ‘Vegetable oil’ which
may well contain Peanut oil.
A pure oil such as Sunflower oil advised for cooking.
Avoid any foods, cosmetics, creams or ointments that contain or are
made with Arachis oil. Some nipple creams used while breast-feeding,
contain arachis oil, as do some ointments used to treat atopic (allergy)
eczema.
Cross reactions to different Nuts: - Some people react only one type of
nut eg. Peanuts. Others are known to react to different types of nuts.
Unless you know that you do uot react to certain nuts it is best to avoid
all nuts.
Other foods: - Some foods may become contaminated by touching other
foods containing nuts. It is advisable to avoid all loose foods in
delicatessens for example.
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Breast-feeding
of allergic infants.
A report from the
Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku, Finland studied 100 infants
who had atopic eczema. The extent and severity of the eczema,
allergic sensitization, and the patients' growth and nutrition were
assessed during and after cessation of breast-feeding.
Some improvement was noticed when a strict elimination diet was adopted by
the mothers. The atopic eczema improved significantly after breast-feeding
was stopped. However, this was not to be seen as a recommendation not to
breastfeed as the incidence of eczema in bottle-fed children is far higher
than breastfed children.
The report concluded
that breast-feeding should be promoted for primary prevention
of allergy, but breast-fed infants with allergy should be treated by
allergen avoidance (by the mother going on an elimination diet)
and in some cases breast-feeding should also be
stopped. This particularly applies to infants with atopic eczema who
also have impaired growth.
J Pediatr 1999
Jan;134(1):27-32, Isolauri E, Tahvanainen A, Peltola T, Arvola T,
Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku, Finland.
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This page was last updated on 04 December 2006 17:25:00
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