Peanut Butter and Food Allergies

The dangers of severe food allergies were brought to media attention recently after the death of a Canadian teenager.  Christina Desforges of Saguenay, Quebec, who had a severe allergy to peanuts, died in late November after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich hours earlier.  What used to be a fairly uncommon allergy has become deadly for many children – and parents are growing increasingly concerned.

~ 33 million Americans have this allergy.

~ Severe allergies include peanut butter, milk, wheat, soy, corn and egg.

~ There are four different kinds of allergic reactions to food, and these include:

LIFE-THREATENING REACTIONS
These involve severe allergic reactions where your child’s body produces a very specific antibody when these foods are eaten that can cause lung contraction, hives, and heart arrest that could result in death.

HIDDEN, DELAYED ALLERGIC REACTIONS
These allergies are debilitating but not life-threatening. For children who have these allergies the symptoms range from headaches, tiredness, attention deficit disorder, skin rashes, and digestive problems.

ASTHMA, MIGRAINES, INABILITY TO FOCUS
These often stem from allergies and most parents have no idea of
This I learned from years of working on this: that these common problems stem from allergies: and most parents have no idea that the underlying cause is the food allergies themselves.

EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
Some kids have emotional reactions and will refuse to eat a food with no medical reactions behind it. But it counts as an allergy as well.

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