A study has revealed that young kids are capable of adapting to their food allergies. Oral immunotherapy is the process of diversifying a person's diet to help prevent food allergies later on.
Data shows that about 17 to 18 million people in the United States have food allergies. Adults who have food allergies have a 65 percent chance that their children will inherit the same food allergy.
The Stanford University reports that ninety percent of food allergies are caused by cow's milk, eggs, shellfish, soy, peanuts, fish, wheat and tree nuts. Food allergy trends are doubling every ten years, according to Dr. Kani Nadeau, director of Stanford University's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that introducing peanuts to infants aged 4-11 months may result to a reduction of food allergies later in life. Oral immunotherapy suggests that diversifying a toddler's diet early on can help prevent food allergies.
In the study, children were given micro doses of the foods they were allergic to. Families of the participants were then asked to monitor their child for two hours after being given the doses.
If the child experiences an allergic reaction, they would remain on the same does until their bodies adjusted. Allergic reactions include experiencing hives, swelling or even vomiting.
Once no allergic reaction was noticed, researchers would increase the dose to build up the patient's immunity. For completion of the treatment, children would eat the foods they were initially allergic to and work to ensure that the continual exposure to such foods can help prevent future food allergies, according to The Raw Food World.
Researchers of the study reported a 100 percent success rate of reversing food allergies of those who participated in the study. "It turns out that everyone's immune system is capable of adapting - and surprisingly, it is as true of adults as children," according to Nadeau.
While Nadeau's research is in the early stages, it has shown great potential as companies are now working to develop a way to develop allergen doses in patches and capsules. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also exploring oral immunotherapy as an effective method to treat and cure allergies.
Because the reactions towards food allergies often create traumatic responses, memories of previous reactions can make the treatment a challenge. Pairing oral immunotherapy with counseling can also help children manage their anxiety to specific types of food and increase their success with oral immunotherapy, according to Natural News.
