Nuts...why are they so bad

Looks lile it still is a thing - almond oil apparentlly

Yes I had DS in 2004 and we wereencpiraged tp do perineal massage with nut oil ( can't remember which one now) - terrible idea in terms of allergens also baby massage was hugely popular.

I think Seafood is abput food poisoning not allergies but happy to be corrected.

I’m not sure sure our ancestors ever ate large quantities of nuts except for when desperate. Can’t imagine them surviving a harsh Northern hemisphere climate eating mostly nuts. Dose makes the poison.

And yes they do contain anti nutrients in abundance - phytates, tannins, oxalates, lectins. If you understand plant biochemistry it makes sense why these benefit the plant but not a consumer of them such as humans.

You can do your own research as lots online but you are by no means the only one who has issues with nuts, or indeed, other supposedly healthy plant based foods. Beans , nuts, seeds etc. are all used by plants to reproduce and therefore have evolved strategies not to be fully digested.

Nuts are very high in omega 6 which is a known driver of inflammation. They also contain phytates, oxalates, lectins & tannins which are known mineral chelators. So not only do we struggle to absorb the minerals from them but they can actually deplete us of minerals. Oxalates are the worst as they build up in the body over time - see Sally Norton for more info.

Nuts also are often grown in areas that are heavily sprayed with synthetic fertilisers and pesticides which are directly toxic.

Some nuts contain high levels of FODMAPS which can trigger IBS etc.

I would love to believe that nuts are healthy but my body and what we know about them tells me otherwise. Some people may do well on them but I don’t as do many others.

The theory that fewer intestinal worms is related to the rise in allergens is pretty strong. Plenty of research has shown this.

Intestinal worms release a chemical that dampens down the immune response (in order that they are not destroyed by the host).

Children began being treated for intestinal worms more regularly when the medication became readily available in the 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond. There is a correlation between a huge reduction in intestinal worms and the rise in allergic reactions to food stuffs.

My now adult child would have died years ago.

They had to have neocate and have remained highly allergic, anaphylactic and intolerance to many foods.

My best friend is allergic to peanuts, it was diagnosed when we were 11 and we're now in our late 40s so it was definitely around in the 80s and 90s. She is extremely allergic and can have a reaction to someone who has eaten peanuts previously breathing on her or through touching a surface that has been contaminated so Snickers and all peanut products were immediately banned at school and I very rarely eat them now because I'm so conditioned to avoiding them even though we live 1000 miles apart 🤣

All food allergies are increasing though.

Its not clear why this is the case.

I think we called it choking, but actually it was allergic swelling of the throat. So as a PP said, many of the children with allergies in the past did not survive.

My daughter has a nut allergy and it is so stressful. Every restaurant, coffee shop etc the fear of cross contamination is always there. Her allergist said there are different schools of thought and one of them is that we are too clean/sterile. Though I think pollution is another possible factor. In the last 10/15 years we were also told to wean later and not introduce allergens til later (she said the research now says it's better to introduce the allergens to the gut sooner rather than later incase it gets through the skin - especially if your baby has excema and the skin is thin, broken). I'm not sure there's anything conclusive but it is an immune response. My sister has a severe egg allergy so it does run in our family. My daughter also has asthma and eczema which all seem to be directly linked. It is a pain not being able to eat a snickers bar but having an allergy and the stress it can cause really sucks.

I assume that’s down to choking risk?

Sadly I have never managed to convince DS that nuts are delicious. His only exposure to date has been pulling a face when peanut butter comes near him.

I was on an Aer Lingus flight recently, where passengers were asked not to consume nuts. No problem and hopefully, everyone complied. It must be stressful for anyone living with allergies.

A few months ago, I was on a flight where a passenger one seat away from me, ate nuts the whole flight. It was an endless bag!

Airbourne reactions are incredibly rare and ar worst cause a minor reaction. No one has ever died from it. I’m shocked up thread someone’s kid was hospitalised due to it, aybe the only person ever.

Not originally.

It's multifactorial. It seems likely that improved diagnosis is a factor (lots of allergy deaths were apparently misdiagnosed as asthma or choking in the past) but there is also a real increase in incidence of allergies of all types. It is unlikely that there is one causative factor. There are lots of theories about things that might be contributing though - dietary, environmental and epigenetic.
Interestingly peanut allergy is uncommon in Spain, but lentil allergy, which is unusual in the UK is far commoner there. Obviously they are closely related (I haven't read the thread so I assume people have already pointed out that peanuts are in fact legumes?) so interesting as to why there's such a difference in the two countries. Lentil isn't even on the standard skin prick test battery in the UK (or at least it wasn't when my DS was diagnosed). I had a battle to convince the doctors that it was likely and worth testing. (I had to provide my own lentils!) But my Spanish MIL shrugged and said "It's common isn't it?" One theory is that lentils are widely used as a weaning food in some parts of Spain leading to early sensitisation, or there may be genetic factors. But basically, nobody really knows.
The airborne allergy theory has been largely debunked now by the way. Reactions on planes are far more likely to be caused by contamination of seats, tray tables etc due to previous occupants eating nuts and if you look at advice from any of the allergy charities on flight safety it's very much focused on that. There is one, much overlooked, significant airborne allergy risk though and that's milk. Those coffee machines in cafes that froth milk are a serious risk to some milk allergy sufferers as they cause an aerosol of milk particles into the atmosphere. But people are far less aware of other allergies - so called "peanut privilege" is a real thing.
And nut (or anything else) free schools are a bad idea that experts in the field do not recommend.

What absolute nonsense. Human beings have eaten nuts since before we started walking upright. Anti nutrients my arse.

There was peanut oil in some popular brands of nipple cream and body lotion. I think babies may have been allergised through that.

I was a child in the 80s, there were kids at my primary school who were allergic to eggs and dairy, as I remember they couldn’t always have the birthday cakes.

I have a pet allergy that became severe when I was a teenager. My parents had a cat and a dog when I was born so I was exposed from birth. No one else in my family has this allergy. I think it’s just one of those things we know more about now. I imagine a lot of people just put up with it, or didn’t say as they were embarrassed, and were miserable, which is a bit sad I think. I think in the past for some people saying you had an allergies was seen as ‘making a fuss’.

I’m 50. My best friend and my cousin both have serious nut allergies. They were diagnosed as children and are aged 50 and 52 respectively.

I have been wondering about this lately but have never seen anyone else say it. Do you have any links to further info about this? I only used to eat nuts occasionally and for various reasons have been eating more lately but they caused digestive issues so I am pulling back from them a bit now. I feel they are definitely not healthy for me at least. I have similar issues with seeds if I eat too many.

I grew up in the 60s and 70s and always we had nuts in the house at Christmas - hazelnuts, walnuts, brazils, almonds.

I've read it's more common in developed English-speaking countries like the UK, USA and Australia etc than other parts of the world. So I wonder if there is a genetic component or perhaps something cultural. I've also read that peanut allergies are rare in countries like Israel where peanuts are a common weaning food.

It's me!! I was at school in the 80s and 90s, then developed a nut allergy during my gap year (despite having eaten them as a child).

I'm not sure why allergies have become more serious, but my sister has a severe but allergy (in her 30s and allergic since birth). It's very serious and very scary. She has to carry round 2 epipens at all times and ask airlines to make announcements etc. She's had a couple of severe reactions just from touching surfaces where people have eaten nuts/made Nutella on toast. She's never eaten from a bakery or been to an Indian restaurant, for example. I'm really glad that people are becoming more allergy aware.