November 26, 2015 – Once upon a time peanuts were a nice, safe, snack.
Now if you eat them, and shake someone’s hand or give them a kiss, you might kill them.
How did we get here?
Make no mistake, I am not making light of peanut allergies. I have friends who are deathly allergic to them, anaphylaxis is no joke and I would never make light of it.
But growing up I only knew one person with serious food allergies. Jen Swen…she couldn’t eat much of anything, and I felt horribly sorry for her. But it wasn’t anaphylaxis that she was dealing with, her digestive system just didn’t agree with many foods, it was a more general issue. She must have missed out on so many things. And sure, I knew people who were lactose intolerant, but that was hardly life threatening.
These days people have peanut allergies that are so dangerous that once I was on a flight and the pilot came on and asked that anyone who might have brought any peanut products on board to please not open them as there was a passenger on board so allergic that there was a fear that should the oils enter the recirculated air on the plane it could spell disaster.
With all the deadly things in this world, it’s amazing that the humble little peanut has become so dangerous in recent decades….
18 comments
I came into my food allergies in my early teens. First cherries, then apples, then the rest of the tree fruit and lastly nuts. Luckily there hasn’t been anything new since my early 20’s. Apparently this is an offshoot of my pollen hay fever allergy. Still, not a fun thing when your mouth and throat start to swell. And now my son has allergies. Started at 3 months.
We got our first crab trap from a woman who grew up eating crab Now, if her food is cut on a cutting board that had crab brushed across it, or if the same knife is used to cut crabmeat and then cuts her steak, she is at risk of anaphylaxis.
Amazing that something you grew up on can kill you later in life.
we’re hoping that Wil will grow out of his allergies, at least some of them. Eggs, shellfish, and nuts. The classics.
Fingers crossed!
I have wondered about the same thing, It was just a given that most kids took peanut butter and jam sandwiches to school when I was young,
Exactly. Now many schools have banned them altogether.
I’ve heard two things about food allergies (and Hans, I suffer a bit from them like you – some fruits and some nuts). 1. They can be caused by vaccinations (something to do with peanut oil used as an ingredient in them?) – tend to be skeptical of this due to the antivaxxer anti-science, but haven’t looked into it. 2. problems with gut bacteria – here’s an article on that – https://theconversation.com/antibiotic-overuse-might-be-why-so-many-people-have-allergies-48078
This is me…. the fruits and nuts. I can drink apple juice and eat cooked apple sauce, but a raw apple will cause me grief. I was good with almonds until a few years ago, so I avoid those now as well. Have had reaction to honey as well. https://www.allergyuk.org/oral-allergy-syndrome/oral-allergy-syndrome
Yep, for me too. Started with raspberries and hazelnuts about 20 years back, now includes apples, pears, almonds, cherries when uncooked. Interesting that all the tropical fruits and cooked fruits are fine.
I miss apples especially… When in Thailand I discovered putsa fruit, which look like little apples and taste similar and I hadn’t eaten apples in so long and ate like two kilos of them… yum yum.
Hmmmm, I’ve known for years that I react to pollen in the spring and I have had reactions (itchy mouth and throat) after eating kiwi. I’ve also have a reaction to a protein powder (plant based and raw) that I tried (nausea…it was terrible). Looks like maybe I should go get tested again. 🙁 Might be a good time to ask if I can undergo some treatment so that we might be able to have cats again. Allergies suck.