Peanut Allergies

I have been researching peanut allergies recently.  A new family member has been diagnosed with a "peanut allergy" and there are some interesting new consequences.

For one thing, the child is no longer allowed to be at certain care facilities because the allergy requires mom and dad to supply an "epi pen".  The insurance companies insuring these facilities don't allow workers there to administer "epi pens" in case of an allergic reaction.  So children with allergies are no longer allowed there.  (Aren't lawyers wonderful...)

So if you have a severe peanut allergy and you eat a peanut what happens?

The worst case scenario is that you suffer from anaphylaxis.  From the Mayo Clinic: "Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you're allergic to, such as the venom from a bee sting or a peanut."

Anaphylactic shock (AS) works is like this:  The first time you encounter something (a "sensitizing" dose) that will subsequently trigger AS your immune system becomes keyed to that substance.  A subsequent exposure (a "shocking" dose) to the keyed substance triggers a whole body allergic reaction.

Your body contains something called mastocytes (mast cells).  These are specialized cells that contain granules (basically pockets of chemicals inside the cells) of heparin and histamine.  Heparin is a powerful anti-coagulant with an unclear role in anaphylatic shock.   Histamine released into the body triggers an inflammation response.  The effect of histamine is to increase the permeability of capillaries to white blood cells.  White blood cells can then attack pathogens in parts of your body where there may be infection.

While mast cells role is primarily for body defense against pathogens, an allergen can trigger these mast cells to release histamine, heparin and antigens by degranulation. 

When the response by the mast cells overwhelms the circulatory system the result is anaphylactic shock.  That is the allergic response is so great that your cardiovascular system is unable to adequately deliver nutrients or oxygen to your cells.  Simple "shock", on the other hand, is the cardiovascular system, for reasons other than allergens, failing to deliver nutrients or oxygen, i.e., as with a serious injury.

The EpiPen contains epinephrine, which is another name for adrenaline.  Adrenaline is a hormone and an neurotransmitter that increases heart rate, dilates air passages, and generally prepares the body for "fight or flight".  The use of the EpiPen immediately reduces the symptoms of anaphylaxis by countering the effect of the mast cells releasing histamine, heparin, and other substances.

Now, has there been an increase in peanut allergies over the last few decades?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Until about 1990 there had been a slow and unexplained increase in peanut allergies documented by physicians and medicine.  After 1990 there was a literal explosion of peanut allergies well documented by school, ER, and other government and health officials.  Today two to three percent (2% - 3%) of all children in western societies have serious peanut allergies.

So what caused this change?

To answer this we have to look at the history of mass allergies and medically induced allergies.

(The following description of events is not proven but I find it more satisfying than maternal peanut consumption during pregnancy and breast feeding - also not proven.  It also follows along with my discussions of toxic oils being introduced over the last 100 years and the development of Type II diabetes.  Besides, the Chinese are big consumers of peanuts and the allergy is virtually unknown there as of 2001 (see link below).)

Starting in 1895 with the introduction of the diphtheria vaccination thousands of children were killed with what was called at the the time "serum sickness".  Allergic reaction to the vaccines serum caused anaphylaxis on a mass scale.

A second wave of mass allergic reactions and analphylaxis related to food began in the 1930's with the introduction of cottonseed oil.  This oils was used in vaccinations and distributed to manufacturers of various foods.  This wave of anaphylaxis peaked in the 1940's and disappeared.

Cottonseed oil was replaced by peanut oil after World War II.

For the next thirty or so years traces of peanut proteins entered vaccinations until peanut allergies were first documented by S. A. Bock in 1974.  Special mixtures of peanut oil and aluminum (Adjuvent 65) were used starting in the 1960's because they increased antibody production 13 times over regular vaccines.

Though manufacturers tried to remove peanut proteins from the peanut oils used in these vaccines they were not 100% successful and these proteins began to create a third wave of mass allergies.

The presence of peanut protien peaked with the PENTA vaccine used from 1988 through the 1990's after which the "outbreak" of peanut allergies began in earnest.

So the bottom line is simple - peanut protein and aluminum in vaccines.

Is vaccination why your child has a peanut allergy?  A vaccine providing a "sensitizing dose"...

Certainly I do not know the answer.  But please do your own research.

Your child's life may depend on it.