March 2017 Our Health


Understanding Food Allergies: How to prevent peanut allergy and more


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


The Hampton Roads Messenger 5 Healthy Recipe


Grilled tuna with chickpea and spinach salad (Serves 4)


Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes


For salad: 1 Tbsp olive or canola oil


1 Tbsp garlic, minced (about 2–3 cloves)


2 Tbsp lemon juice


1 Tbsp oregano, minced (or 1 tsp dried)


Have you noticed food allergy warnings at restaurants? Maybe you’ve heard about peanut-free


classrooms


and flights. People who have serious reactions to certain foods must be careful about what they eat, and what others eat around them. There’s no cure for food allergies. But researchers are learning more about how to prevent and treat this condition.


Allergic reactions happen when


your immune system—your body’s defense against germs and foreign substances—overreacts


to something


that’s normally harmless. In the United States, most food allergies are caused by peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, wheat, and soy. Allergies show up most often in children. But they can develop at any age.


Food allergy symptoms can range


from mild to severe (see Wise Choices box). Some people experience a life- threatening reaction called anaphylaxis. Symptoms may include trouble breathing,


dizziness, and fainting.


When you have a food allergy, there’s no way to predict how your body will react when you’re exposed. You might have a mild reaction one time and a severe reaction the next.


If you think that you or your child


may have a food allergy, see your health care provider. Your doctor will take a detailed medical history and perform a physical examination. If a diagnosis of food allergy seems likely, they may recommend a blood test or skin prick test. These results will help determine if you or your child has a food allergy.


NIH researchers working to better have understand


been food


allergies. “There has been a lot of research on peanut allergy because it is often severe, lifelong, and has a huge impact on quality of life,” explains Dr. Scott Sicherer, a pediatric food allergy expert at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.


Scientists hope the


progress they make on peanut allergy will help guide how to handle other food allergies.


Researchers recently carried out


a large clinical trial called Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP). The study looked at infants’ chances of developing an allergy if they ate pea- nut-containing foods at an early age. Six hundred and forty infants who were at high risk of developing a peanut allergy were enrolled in the trial. The infants were randomly placed in either


a peanut-eating or peanut-avoiding


group. They continued these diets until they were 5 years old. Infants who ate peanut-containing


foods beginning


early in life had an 81% lower chance of developing a peanut allergy.


findings, an expert panel sponsored by NIH recently


“Based on the strength of these issued updated


guidelines to help health care providers work with families to introduce pea- nut-containing foods to infants to help prevent the development of peanut allergy,” Sicherer says.


The panel provided 3 guidelines


that describe when and how to give these foods. The recommendations are based on how likely a baby is to develop peanut allergy. Talk with your doctor before you introduce any pea- nut-containing foods to your infant. The doctor may tell you when and how to start feeding peanut to your baby or recommend doing allergy testing first.


“It’s important to understand that


these guidelines are about preventing peanut allergy, not treating an existing peanut allergy,” Sicherer explains.


The new guidelines may come as a surprise to some people. Almost 20 years ago, experts recommended that babies at high risk for developing peanut


allergy avoid peanut-con-


taining foods until age 3. But nearly 10 years ago, experts withdrew this recommendation. There was no proof that it worked.


“The most recent change in


guidance was prompted by the very compelling results of the LEAP study,” says Dr. Marshall Plaut, a food allergy expert at NIH. “The new guidelines are based on these results and the clinical knowledge of the expert panel who developed them.”


Whether this strategy works for other food allergies isn’t known. “More research is needed to find out if early dietary introduction of other foods may help prevent allergy to those foods,” Sicherer explains.


NIH scientists are also looking at ways to treat people who already have food allergies. One promising strategy is called oral immunotherapy. It


involves eating small, slowly


increasing amounts of the allergy- causing food. One recent study tried this approach for peanut-allergic preschool children. Almost 80% of


FOOD ALLERGIES PAGE 7


12 oz tuna steaks, cut into 4 portions (3 oz each)


½ can (15½ oz) low-sodium chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), rinsed


drained and


½ bag (10 oz) leaf spinach, rinsed and dried 1 Tbsp lemon juice


1 medium tomato, rinsed and cut into wedges


1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp ground black pepper


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