The 14 most common foods that are known to cause allergies in Europe are celery, gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites. In North America, tree nuts cannot be exempt from that list.

So far there is not only one cause known to be responsible for the growth of allergies worldwide. Medical experts consider a mix of factors such as pollution, dietary changes and less exposure to microbes, which change the way our immune systems respond to causing the rise of food allergies. 

While we have yet to find a cure for peanut allergies, the good news is that there are new innovations in food allergies that are making the quality of life for people with allergies a little bit better. 

Food Allergen Detection Device 

More positivity in the field of food allergies, aiming to keep people with allergies safe are food sensors- detecting whether your food contains allergens. One of these revolutionary products is Nima Sensor.

Nima Sensor is a practical solution for people with allergies that love to travel and visit restaurants. Unfortunately, many restaurants do not understand the severity of allergies and sometimes can unintentionally serve food that has in near contact to the food known to cause allergies. Although this technology is not perfect and has certain limitations (such as testing peanut contained in alcohol) it is a step in the right direction. 

“I have yet to try one of these myself. My questions are around cross-contamination however for my celiac little sister, Hyped Up Harvest, these seem like an absolutely perfect fit.”

Jennifer, Her Allergic Travels
Anaphylactic to Peanuts & Tree Nuts

Early-age Food Allergy Treatments 

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, an estimated 4-6% of children have some sort of food allergy. Recent studies have shown that early introduction to peanuts and nuts can possibly prevent future food allergies, thus making early introduction for allergen food from an early- age, even infant, potentially very important. 

Luckily medicine has made progress. New products such as Aralyte and Hello, Peanut, that can even be mixed with formula and inserted into a baby’s diet as early as 4-5 months old.  

“This has continued to be a controversial point because this is not proven to be the case for everyone, and exposure to a food allergen does generate a very different response depending on how allergic you are. I personally am still told, probably once a month, by someone (other than my allergist) that “they say if you have peanuts in small doses it actually can improve.” Not if you’re me. I am far too allergic for which my allergist, unfortunately, agrees. It’s extremely important to get your information from professional sources. They have the latest information the tools to test you before trying a DIY immunotherapy treatment.”

Jennifer, Her Allergic Travels
Anaphylactic to Peanuts & Tree Nuts

New alternatives to EpiPen

EpiPen is known as the most common and standard option for people who experience a life-threatening allergic reaction – anaphylaxis. And it is also quite pricey. Reaching even  600 USD per purchase depending on the country. 

During the last several years, new alternatives to EpiPen such as Emerade, Adrenaclick and Symjepi have emerged, some of which are at a more affordable price range. 

“The premium of this household brand used to come with a certain the comfort of quality, but with an Epipen’s needle length put into question following a recent tragedy, in addition to the frequent shortages we’re having (here in Canada at least) I currently am carrying only have one Epipen, Allerject and Emerade.”

Jennifer, Her Allergic Travels
Anaphylactic to Peanuts & Tree Nuts

New Treatments

So far there is no cure for food allergies. On the positive note, new treatments have emerged which can improve the quality of life for people with allergies. If your severity is low enough, you may be eligible for Oral Immunotherapy or a “food challenge”

Oral Immunotherapy includes feeding a patient with small doses of the allergen food under medical supervision. This type of therapy does not cure food allergy, but it makes patients tolerant to small doses of the food protein causing the food allergy. These treatments are still in the development stages, but they are bringing a positive outlook for the quality of life of people with allergies. 

“I actually had a severe allergic reaction 10 years after doing my food challenge for tree nuts. I no longer can eat them and am told by my allergist that my scenario is a common one: 10 years ago no one was telling patients they had to keep eating the allergen in small doses after the challenge was complete. It is, quite tragically, for that reason that I ate Nutella (hazelnut) at breakfast last year, however, am now told to avoid all tree nuts thanks to an Almond later that night”

Jennifer, Her Allergic Travels
Anaphylactic to Peanuts & Tree Nuts

Allergen Sniffing Dogs 

Yes! Organizations training dogs to detect allergen food that exist in the world. For example, a dog is being trained to detect peanuts. Once the dog scents peanuts it will sit as an alert that the allergen is present nearby. 

Hopefully, all this is making you feel positive about the future. For more information about allergies, we advise you to consult with a local allergist.