WWTBAM Bored

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/ha ... 01_08.html

Are people allergic only to peanuts and not other types of nuts, similar to those who are allergic to one kind of animal and not another? On the face of it, this looks, well, nuts. Would anyone with any sort of nut allergy buy a product like this in the first place? Is this erring on the side of caution, or erring on the side of insanity?

Peanuts are not actually 'nuts,' they are legumes, so there is no real relationship between a peanut allergy and your reaction to real nuts.

Something that is interesting about peanut allergies is that they are virtually unique to the US: people all over the world eat peanuts-- think about Thai cooking, and lots of Chinese foods-- but you practically never hear of anyone overseas having a peanut allergy. One theory is that it has to do with how peanuts are prepared for consumption: in the US, we roast them, but people elsewhere generally do not, and it is possible that the roasting process causes 'something bad' to develop. Another theory is that it is related to peanut oils that are used in baby products-- stuff gets smeared on babies at a very young age, causing them to become sensitive to 'something bad' in the oil, leading to allergy.

I like peanuts.

There's a lot of undeclared nuts out there, but most of them aren't in jars or cans.

wintergreen48 wrote: Something that is interesting about peanut allergies is that they are virtually unique to the US: people all over the world eat peanuts-- think about Thai cooking, and lots of Chinese foods-- but you practically never hear of anyone overseas having a peanut allergy.

Is it possible that people with peanut allergies in those cultures simply tend to die very young of "unknown causes"?

The cashew is a first cousin to poison ivy.


You're welcome.

Maddie is allergic to peanuts and has to carry around an Epi-pen.

She can eat nuts, but peanuts are a legume.

What seems odd to me is why people who are allergic to peanuts don't have more problems with other legumes, which are everywhere.

Peas, soybeans, green beans, pinto beans.

I suppose it is because the peanut is the only common food crop in its particular genus.