Eating tolerated nuts may help nut allergic children

Researchers at the Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia have conducted a pilot study of 47 children with nut allergies which showed that in many cases when the children consumed nuts to which they were not allergic, their nut allergy went into remission.

Typically, children who are allergic to one or more nuts are told to avoid all nuts, including those which are not known to cause an allergic reaction. This is in part due to the risk of cross contact in nut processing environments.

Children in the study were reviewed after only 6-12 months of non-allergenic nut consumption where it was found that around 25% of the children went into remission and could safely eat the nuts that previously caused them to have an allergic reaction in addition to those they were not allergic to. The researchers believe that over a longer period, more children in the study will go into remission.

The study also showed that eating those nuts that were tolerated can improve psychological wellbeing and quality of life for nut-allergic children and their families. More than 90 percent of parents in the study reported improved psychological wellbeing about their children being able to eat different nuts at home without developing an allergic reaction.

The research group has now received funding from the Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation to begin a larger, randomised controlled trial of 100 children to further demonstrate the benefits of non-allergic nuts for children with nut allergy. The results of that study are expected to be available in late 2012.

To read the full media release relating to the results of this pilot study, please see the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation website.