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Nut allergies demand proper precautions
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Q:My child was recently diagnosed with a peanut allergy. What foods should we avoid? A:Having a child diagnosed with a food allergy can cause an array of feelings: confusion in learning about what food to avoid, fear due to the varying severity of reactions your child could have, and helplessness because it now means your entire family's lifestyle will be changing - not just your child's.
Have no fear though. Food allergies have become so prominent that consumer demands are paving the way toward easier navigation through food labels.
As of January, peanuts and the seven other top food allergens (milk, wheat, eggs, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and soy) are now clearly listed on food labels. Although these ingredients may have been part of the ingredients list in terms unclear to the untrained eye, the new law requires manufacturers to clearly identify that their product "contains" one of these allergens under the ingredients list (ie: Contains: wheat ingredients). This change is a significant help for a family recently diagnosed with food allergies.
For foods to avoid when a peanut allergy is an issue, please note the following guidelines from the University of Virginia:
Avoid the following products and ingredients: cold-pressed, expressed, or expelled peanut oil (though may not cause a reaction if it is not cold pressed, expressed, or expelled); ground nuts; mixed nuts; Nu-Nuts artificial nuts; peanuts; peanut butter and peanut flour.
Peanuts may be "hidden" in the following types of foods as well: African, Chinese, Thai and other ethnic dishes; baked goods; candy (typically caused by cross-contamination with peanuts being used in other areas of the plant during manufacturing); cereals; chili, spaghetti sauce (since it is sometimes used as a thickening agent for these dishes); chocolate (candy, candy bars); crackers; egg rolls; hydrolyzed plant and vegetable protein (primarily a risk for imported foods); ice creams, frozen yogurts; marzipan and nougat.
A note on peanut allergies versus tree nut allergies: If your child is allergic to peanuts, they may not be allergic to other nuts, called "tree" nuts. Reason being peanuts are not nuts, rather they are legumes (like dried beans and peas). Therefore, although your child may not be able to eat peanut butter, it does not necessarily mean they cannot enjoy tree nut butter (like almond butter) instead.
You should heed caution though. Never assume because your child was diagnosed with a peanut allergy that feeding them tree nuts will be OK. The risk is too high that your child could be allergic to both tree nuts and peanuts.
For verification, it is crucial that your child be tested for allergies to both peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans and similar nuts) before offering them food that may contain tree nuts. Carrie Taylor is a registered dietitian and licensed dietitian nutritionist with Big Y. If you have a nutrition question, e-mail her at askcarrie@ bigy.com or write Living Well, Eating Smart, Carrie Taylor, 2145 Roosevelt Ave, PO Box 7840, Springfield, MA 01102.
