Peanut 'allergies' - what causes this in your opinion?

Folks, firstly, no baby yet - due date is April 17th and the wait continues...

Looking into this peanut 'allergy' thing. Having lived with a sibling who has a servere reaction to peanuts, i don't like calling it an allergy. Allergies are what happens when you get the freakin' sniffles or hives...but it ain't when you are seconds away from dying. *rant over*

What are your beliefs on this? Have any of you researched this at all? For our entire pregnancy, my wife has stayed away from peanuts or peanut related products. This will continue over the first year during breastfeeding.

Any thoughts on this? How many of your kids have peanut allergies?

if your wife doesnt eat peanuts your kid might not develop an immunity to peanuts, i dont know just a theory

Originally Posted by Simo

if your wife doesnt eat peanuts your kid might not develop an immunity to peanuts, i dont know just a theory

great point. the reason why we are envoking this gameplan is my mom used to eat quite a bit of peanuts when my brother was born...

but it is a good point...

my mom used to have a lot of peanut butter... and yep im allergic

Originally Posted by skanji

Folks, firstly, no baby yet - due date is April 17th and the wait continues...

Looking into this peanut 'allergy' thing. Having lived with a sibling who has a servere reaction to peanuts, i don't like calling it an allergy. Allergies are what happens when you get the freakin' sniffles or hives...but it ain't when you are seconds away from dying. *rant over*

What are your beliefs on this? Have any of you researched this at all? For our entire pregnancy, my wife has stayed away from peanuts or peanut related products. This will continue over the first year during breastfeeding.

Any thoughts on this? How many of your kids have peanut allergies?

Peanut Allergy is considered an allergy because allergies are hypersensitivities to certain substances. My son has severe peanut allergy. I love peanut butter -- on bread, chocolate, ice cream, anything. I'm not certain of the correlation between the parent eating substantial amounts of it and the offspring being allergic to it, but your experiences tell me that it may be more than coincidental. If you're really concerned about it, have the child properly tested for food allergies. I had my son tested when he got welts on his cheek after I kissed him goodbye one day. Yup, I ate a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast on that day. My son also has mild eczema and mild asthma, which are considered symptoms of a peanut allergy. He has an Epipen both at school and at home.

I'm not sure if he will ever outgrow it.

so overexposure to peanuts causes this? I always thought it was a genetic predisposition (unless peanuts can cause mutations of that deficient gene...)

Originally Posted by sfu_lifer

so overexposure to peanuts causes this? I always thought it was a genetic predisposition (unless peanuts can cause mutations of that deficient gene...)

it very well may be, but I doubt it.

our families are originally from east africa and prior to that, india. There is **no** peanut allergies in those parts of the world.

in my personal opinion, i believe that there is something in the enviornment or the food we eat in north america/uk that causes this....there's no other explanation....

Originally Posted by sfu_lifer

so overexposure to peanuts causes this? I always thought it was a genetic predisposition (unless peanuts can cause mutations of that deficient gene...)

It's hard to say but it seems that most of the folks that posted have a similar pattern of having the parent being overexposed to peanuts and the offspring being allergic to it. Oh yeah, I ate a lot of peanuts also, those ones that you can get at Costco. Sadly, I do not buy them anymore and I rarely enjoy a peanut butter sandwich. sigh.

I have two kids allergic to peanuts and their Mother has always hated peanuts in any form, so therefore she never ate any - before, during or after pregnancy.

The younger kid is mildly allergic and the older is rather severe - it is quite possible she would go into anaphalaxis shock (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/anaphylaxis-1) just by coming into contact with something that had been in even indirect contact with peanuts or any of it's many deriatives.

The younger is also severly allergic to all milk products which are almost impossible to ignore in daily food requirements. Our cupboards and fridge probably look fairly boring and odd to most folks, but obviously we always take the safe route.

It should also be noted that Mom is not a milk lover either. She attempted to drink one glass a day during her pregnancy with the youngest, per doctor's orders, but it made her sick just on contact during that time.

We nor the schools are ever without an epi-pen. My family tree is also full of eczema and asthma and indeed, these are often closely associated with known allergies.

Not sure that sheds any light, just a personal situation.

Hubster

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pea...710/DSECTION=4

Originally Posted by sfu_lifer

so overexposure to peanuts causes this? I always thought it was a genetic predisposition (unless peanuts can cause mutations of that deficient gene...)

I ate lots of peanut butter during both of my pregnancies and neither of my children have peanut (or any other kind of) allergies.

PESTICIDES?

People may be allergic to the pesticides used to grow the peanuts rather then the peanuts themselves, also the use of chemicals such as pesticides can decrease the immune system.

In addition, the nature of the peanut plant (the actual shelled peanuts are in the soil) and the deep roots of the plant, may make it more likely that pesticides will be picked up by the roots or the peanuts themselves.

Personally, I only eat organic peanut butter, or almond butter.

My wife ate peanut butter through pregnancy and breastfeeding, and my almost-two-year-old son has been eating it since just before he turned one. No problems at all here, he loves it and it's an easy and nutritious meal ingredient.

I read that starting solid foods before 6 months increases chances of food allergies.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206158,00.html

Also see here:
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide...s-have-doubled

I have a littlebit more of a radical view on the increase of allergies among children. I do not think that the amount of peanuts eaten has anything to do with whether your child will have a peanut allergy.

When I was a child I had never heard of peanut allergy, nor did I know too many kids with asthma and the like. Now I know of many children with allergies, especially to peanuts and children with asthma.

My radical thoughts are that it's the hormones and pesticides in our food that makes our children get these ailments.