Peanut Allergies

If you suffer from peanut allergies then you need to be very careful about everything you eat.

This is because many products are either made with elements from the peanut like its oil or shell or they can be cross contaminated.

When first diagnosed you may not fully understand that it is not just a whole peanut that you are allergic to but also anything made from any part of the peanut also.

Any part could cause an allergic reaction which can lead to anaphylactic seizure and sometimes death depending on the degree of reaction.

If you have peanut allergies you are more than likely allergic to more than just the peanut.

You are probably allergic to peas and beans as they are from the same family referred to as legumes.

Peanut allergies can also lead to being allergic to others in the nut family also such as cashews, almond, and pecans.

Some of the symptoms that are associated with a peanut allergy are pain in the stomach area, diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing and throat tightening.

Though the allergy can be found in every age group - it is generally found more often in children and the rate at which children are being diagnosed with this allergy is increasing.

One myth about peanut allergies is that most children will outgrow them.

The fact is many are just misdiagnosed as having an allergy to peanuts and many years later you find out that your immune system is quite able to ingest and process peanuts.

The immune system's over-reaction to what is normally considered a safe food is in essence what a food allergy is.

Nuts Often Hidden In Foods

If you are properly diagnosed with a peanut allergy you will need to learn how to detect them in foods as they are found in the least expected places.

For example you know not to eat peanut butter, that is obvious, but what about foods such as Thai or any other Asian based foods?

These foods use nuts as the base in many of their sauces.

How about Italian food, pesto is another sauce made from nuts.

Other hidden areas to find unexpected peanuts are in energy bars, health foods and flavoring sauces such as bouillon.

Other areas to look at include cereals that are fruit flavored, candy bars, and even potato chips.

Once you have been diagnosed with having peanut allergies - for some it becomes a life and death matter to know what is in the food you are choosing to eat.

It does not even need to be one of the ingredients listed on the food label, even trace cross contamination can cause a deadly reaction.