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in collaboration with
Pr Alain Didier (pulmonologist-allergist)
Medical validation:
January 14, 2023
Good news for anyone with a peanut allergy: a new treatment based on boiled and roasted peanuts seems promising. Explanations.
Peanut allergy is one of the most common and severe food allergies. To treat it, few solutions exist: the usual treatment involves an elimination diet. However, researchers may have found the solution. Oral immunotherapy – based on boiled and roasted peanuts – would seem to be effective.
70 children participated in the study
As part of this trial, the researchers recruited 70 children aged 6 to 18 years.
They received boiled peanuts for 12 hours for almost 12 weeks, then the same food for 2 hours for 20 weeks and finally a dozen roasted peanuts a day for 20 weeks.
Important detail: the candidates had to consume boiled peanuts before roasted ones.
Following these tests, the scientists found that boiled peanuts did modify the structure of allergic proteins, “meaning they are less likely to cause an allergic reaction, but increase tolerance to peanut consumption.”they detail.
Indeed, heat seems to affect the immunoreactivity of peanut.
A process validated by Pr Alain Didier, allergist.
“LBoiling peanuts causes it to lose some of its allergenicity. Some Asian countries, which consume it in this form, have relatively few allergies. In allergic children, the current desensitization method is quite similar: peanuts are gradually reintroduced in the form of a modified allergen. When the tolerance threshold is found, they are given peanuts“, details the professor, before adding that “Although this research seems promising, it remains preliminary..”
80% of participating children became desensitized
At the end of the tests, the study reveals that nearly 80% of the participating children became desensitized to these dried fruits after receiving boiled peanuts and oral immunotherapy with roasted peanuts.
However, the use of boiled peanuts for oral immunotherapy needs further controlled trials. Be careful not to embark on such an undertaking without medical supervision.
Therefore, the consumption of boiled or roasted peanuts in case of allergy is always to be avoided. The current medical recommendation is strict avoidance. In case of doubt or question about an allergy, a medical consultation is necessary.