Boiled peanuts may cure allergies, study says

Studies dating back 30 years suggest that boiling peanuts may reduce the intensity of peanut allergies.

most of the studies chemical laboratory – Testing the Effects of Different Cooking Methods on Peanut Allergens – mouse.

In a year-long experiment with children, researchers in South Australia found that boiling peanuts for up to 12 hours may be an effective treatment for most young people with allergies. bottom.

A clinical trial at Flinders University and the South Australian Institute of Health and Medical Research (SAHMRI) found that up to 80% of children with peanut allergies became desensitized to eating peanuts.

trial

clinical trials Seventy children (ages 6-18) with peanut allergy were fed 12-hour boiled peanuts for 12 weeks, 2-hour boiled peanuts for 20 weeks, and roasted peanuts for 20 weeks.

The idea was to build a tolerance until participants could consume 12 roasted peanuts without an allergic reaction.

This multi-step process is known as oral immunotherapy.

The results were encouraging, with 56 of 70 participants (80%) becoming desensitized to the target dose of peanuts.

Treatment-related adverse events were reported in 43 participants (61%), resulting in only 3 children withdrawing from the study, indicating a favorable safety profile.

What this means is that while the treatment can cause unpleasant reactions, it is largely not dangerous.

Researcher opinion

Associate Professor Tim Chattaway, Flinders University School of Medicine and Public Health, is a senior author.

He said heat affects the protein structure and allergenic properties of peanuts, making them less likely to cause severe allergic reactions.

“First, the children were given a small amount of boiled nuts to partially desensitize them, and once they showed no signs of an allergic reaction, the next stage of treatment was to increase the amount of roasted peanuts to increase tolerance. said Chattaway.

SAHMRI Associate Professor Luke Grzeskowiak is the lead author. He said that up to 3% of children in Western countries have a peanut allergy.

Dr. Grzeskowiak said the clinical trial “could help develop new therapeutic pathways to reduce the risk of accidental peanut exposure.”

He said the treatment could “significantly improve the quality of life of children with peanut allergies and their caregivers.”

“In our clinical trial, boiled peanuts provided a safe and effective treatment for children with peanut allergy with continuous long-term administration of boiled and roasted peanuts,” Dr. Grzeskowiak said. “There are encouraging early signs that demonstrate that it may.”

Oral immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, so researchers are trying to better understand how these treatments work.

where did the idea come from?

In westernized countries, peanuts are routinely dry-roasted.Allergy rates are higher than in Korea, China, and Israel, where peanuts are boiled, pickled, or fried.

Previous studies have shown that allergens in foods such as milk and eggs are altered by heating.

Studies show that children with milk and egg allergies can tolerate these foods if they are sufficiently heated.look here When here.

Some people with milk or egg allergies eat these foods frequently when heated and overcome their allergies.

In a previous study, four children with peanut allergies ate increasing amounts of boiled peanuts daily for several months. Several months after this exposure, some (but not all) children were able to eat raw peanuts.

Researchers argue that people shouldn’t adopt this boiled peanut strategy at home.The new findings need to be replicated in larger trials.

This trial was funded by the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation.