What is the Environment's Part in Peanut Allergies?

In general I haven’t given much thought about the heritability of my son’s peanut allergy, since food allergies are not an issue in my family or my husband’s.  I ignored all of the advice to avoid eating peanuts while pregnant (though I am quite convinced there is more to it than this) and barely knew how allergies affected one’s health before the diagnosis. 

Lately, there has been some great new information and theories, though some conflicting, that grabbed my attention to understand on a deeper level how someone “gets” a peanut allergy.  Of all the studies listed here, none seem to rule out the environment and an unexplainable mystery factor.  Actually, most researchers suggest that there is an environmental factor at play, which they cannot quite pinpoint.

According to a recent article in February from the New Yorker, “From an evolutionary-biology point of view, food allergy makes no sense at all,” Dr. Sicherer, a pediatric allergist at Mt Sinai in New York, said.  “It seems pretty clear that food allergy is a condition that resulted from the environment we created.”  “Basically, we are all in limbo, he added.  “Even the experts are not certain what to advise” regarding whether to avoid or not avoid certain types of foods in the early years in order to prevent allergies from developing. 

According to BBC news article posted on March of 2011, scientists claim a peanut allergy “gene flaw” link. “A gene defect that can triple the risk of a child developing an allergy to peanut has been identified”, scientists have claimed.  Only 20% of peanut allergy cases, however, were found to have this Filaggrin gene defect, and between 4% to 11% had the gene defect, yet, were not allergic to peanuts.  

Identical twins, who share all 25,000 genes, were used in researching whether or not there is a biological program for having a peanut allergy.  A study from 2000 from the Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, concluded that there is a higher rate of peanut allergy among identical twins, strongly suggesting a genetic influence.  Yet, not all identical twins having identical genes had a peanut allergy.    

Information by geneticist, Dr. Barry Star (Stanford University) states that while peanut allergies tend to run in families, in 36% of the cases this is not true.  Thus, there is a strong environmental role which remains unknown.  

And lastly, a newly released book, The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic by Heather Fraser, gives us a new perspective of why some “get” a peanut allergy.  She places the increase in allergies, beginning about 20 years ago, at the same time of changes in vaccination combinations, ingredients and schedules.  Fraser clearly states this as a possible environmental contributor. 

All seem to have one common theme, which is environment cannot be ruled out.  Uncovering this mystery environmental factor will hopefully lead us to more food allergy prevention and putting a cap on the growing numbers of peanut allergy and food allergy in general.  

Debbie at Peanut Free Sweet Tooth

www.peanutfreesweettooth.com

Which Fast Food Restaurants are Peanut Safe?

When my son was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy I thought I would never eat out again, especially in fast food restaurants. Before doing any research, I remember being of the naive belief that it was no longer safe to eat in restaurants and that my child would need to eat homemade food all the time. After looking into it though, I learned that there are options out there for parents of children with peanut allergies, even in fast food restaurants.  Thank goodness, since having a break from cooking once in awhile is a good thing.   

While I had previously looked into which restaurants are “peanut safe” a few years back, I thought I would brush-up by calling a few major fast food places to get their official response. Below are my findings, which only include “peanut free” food items and not “nut free” ones.  Many allergists recommend staying nut free if there is a diagnosis of peanut free due to cross-contamination.

MCDONALDS

I had a conversation with a customer service rep there (800 244-6227) and she mentioned that McDonalds has a strict policy that foods with allergens must be stored separately from other foods. That being said though, McDonalds does serve products may contain both peanut and peanut oil. The women I spoke with asked that I refer to a document on their website which lists all ingredients for all products (http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf). Reading this led me to focus on the following 3 products which you should stay away from:

a) Fruit & Walnut Salad: Made with peanut oil and may contain shell parts, peanuts and other tree nuts

b) Sundaes: These include peanuts

c) McFlurry: These include M&M candies which may contain peanuts and are made on the same equipment as peanuts.

While I personally try to limit the amount of fast food my child eats and concentrate on more healthy options, I will say that there is McDonalds a few blocks away from my house and I am ok taking my son there from time to time. We completely avoid all their desserts and get their burgers/fries instead (we specifically request apple slices for the Happy Meal desserts and do not use the caramel dip that goes along with it).

WENDY’S

The Wendy’s website features a menu which is much more user friendly and includes a dedicated column for all products that contain peanut/tree nuts at the following link  (http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf). Similar to McDonalds, there are a few salads which must be avoided as well as several desserts, including the following:

a) Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

b) Most of the Twisted Frosty with the exception of the Oreo (though there is the issue of cross contamination in the Oreo since other twisted frosty desserts are made alongside it)

BURGER KING

I had a conversation with a customer service rep there (305 378-3535) and she pointed me to the following allergen information link on their website which says that there are NO products which contains peanuts (I was surprised to hear this, but the lady I spoke with verbally confirmed it). Just to be safe though, I still always avoid all their desserts.

http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cms_out/digital_assets/files/pages/IngredientsAndAllergens.pdf

KFC

Their website has the following allergen list (http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_allergens_aug10.pdf) which states that the only product containing peanuts is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie Slice.

TACO BELL

Here is the allergen list from their website (http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/allergens) which does not list any items under the “Peanuts” column. The site also specifically contains a footnote that states “Peanuts and tree nuts are not used at Taco Bell restaurants. May be used in common manufacturing plants”.

In summary, your child does not have to feel left out since there are many fast food options to have a peanut-free meal. Please note though that even if a restaurant states that they are 100% peanut free, I still ALWAYS carry an EpiPen wherever I go and NEVER leave the home without it (it is forever glued to my side). Also, please use the information in the company links I’ve provided as only a guide, and always verbally confirm the peanut content of every meal with the server (preferably a manager since most servers are usually unsure).  

A common theme I’m found from this research is that you should always be extremely careful about ANY dessert you give your child. This daily stressful concern to provide my son a peanut-safe treat is one of the reasons I decided to start a business that sells delicious 100% peanut free desserts (cookies, cupcakes, candies, etc). It is called Peanut Free Sweet Tooth (http://www.peanutfreesweettooth.com) and I’ve made it a point to offer a wide assortment of products at the best prices so that all children can experience the sweet things in life. Please check us out when you get a chance!!

-Debbie