Another myth busted: nuts and allergies don’t go hand in hand

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Until now, in every book I read the nuts were a big no-no for kids because they were said to cause allergies. Recently I have stumbled upon an article that says something completely different.

Not only the nuts are not likely to cause allergies (well, no more than other foods), but by not offering them we can cause the kids become nuts-sensitive.

And yes, there are kids who are seriously allergic to nuts and that is not to be taken lightly, but there are much more other foods that kids are sensitive to – for example milk, wheat, seafood, yet we are obsessed with nuts. Good point, always look at the big picture.

Coming from a trusted source (lifescience.com), this article made me doubt the “nuts = allergies” rule. Is it possible that we are over reacting here? More and more children every year are diagnosed with food allergies and the article explains it in a rather logical way. We, parents, are trying to keep the kids clean – well, as much as possible that is, which is why their immune system has less bacteria to fight and having not much to do it starts attacking the proteins in some foods and this we call an allergy.

As funny as it sounds, the nuts are not the root of the problem – lack of dirt is. Our kids are too clean and that causes their immune system to start creating sensitivity to certain foods. A wise old woman once said “Child needs one teaspoon of dirt a day” – it turns out that she was right.

What do you think? Would you give your child peanut butter or do you shiver at the thought?

Update: this post was featured in Living with food allergies carnival and in the Skeptical Parent crossing carnival.