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Understanding Nut Allergies
Information for Grandparents By Sue Marquette Poremba
An allergy to nuts or peanuts, like any allergic reaction, involves the immune system. The immune system mounts an attack on the proteins in certain foods and treats the foods as dangerous to the body. Tree nuts and peanuts are part of a group of eight foods that cause 90 percent of all food-related allergies. The other foods are milk, eggs, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish.
"Most reactions can be treated, but deaths can happen,"Dr. Brasher says. For this reason, it is imperative that grandparents put aside any skepticism they may have about the allergy. Talk to any parent who has a child with a peanut or nut allergy, and you will find a parent who is highly cautious and perhaps seems overprotective. But the parents must be vigilant because how food is prepared can be just as dangerous to an allergic child as eating a raw peanut or nut.
Cross contamination is a major issue that grandparents should understand. Cross contamination is when a utensil is used for food preparation of a nut or peanut (or any food that causes an allergic reaction) and is then used for a non-allergenic food without properly being cleaned and/or sterilized. This can include something as obvious as using the same knife to spread peanut butter and jelly or something as hidden as a plain chocolate bar that is made in a factory where nuts or peanut butter are used as ingredients in other candies.
Grandparents should take advantage of new regulations that require any processed food that contains any of the eight major food allergens to be labeled as such. This law went into effect on January 1, 2006, so older foods may not have the same strict labeling. As for chocolate or other candy treats, it is better to err on the side of caution. A Web search of "nut free chocolate" brings up a good number of chocolate manufacturers who sell safe candies for those with nut or peanut allergies.
If you decide to dine out with your grandchildren, always ask how the food is prepared. If the staff cannot give you an answer, don't order food for the allergic child. If you are watching the food being prepared, make sure the utensils that touch nuts or peanuts are not used to dish out the food for the allergic child. It may seem tedious, but it is necessary to keep the child healthy.
