Australian researchers find boiled peanuts could help children overcome peanut allergies
- Feeding children boiled peanuts can help them develop a tolerance to the popular nut
- Adelaide researchers tested the theory on 70 children aged six to eighteen
- They found that up to 80 percent of the children could eat 12 roasted peanuts after the study
- Immunotherapy could prove “life-changing” for allergic children and parents
By Olivia Day for Daily Mail Australia
Published: 22:36, 11 January 2023 | Updated: 22:48, January 11, 2023
Thousands of Australians could soon get some relief from crippling peanut allergies following the discovery of a life-changing treatment.
The researchers found that by boiling peanuts, a key protein that “boosts” the body’s allergic response to the popular nut was transformed, helping children overcome their allergies.
Adelaide scientists have studied the impacts of the innovative therapy on 70 children aged six to eighteen with mild to moderate peanut allergies.
By slowly increasing their intake of boiled peanuts over the course of the year-long study, the children’s bodies were able to develop a tolerance to the nuts.
The results have proven to be “life-changing” with up to 80 percent of children able to consume 12 roasted peanuts without any reaction after the study.
Adelaide scientists studied the impacts of the therapy on 70 children aged six to eighteen who had a mild to moderate peanut allergy (stock image)
The group started by taking small, slowly increasing amounts of peanuts that had been boiled for 12 hours, twice a day, for the first 12 weeks.
They then moved on to eating peanuts that had been boiled for two hours for 20 weeks before finally tackling roasted peanuts for the final 20 weeks.
Flinders University and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute associate professor Luke Grzekowiak said most reactions had been mild.
He said 61% of the children experienced some reaction over the course of the study, while three had required adrenaline.
By slowly increasing their intake of boiled peanuts during the year-long study, the children’s bodies were able to develop a tolerance to peanuts.
Professor Grzekowiak said the immunotherapy worked because the body cannot recognize the structure of the peanut after it has been boiled.
“Boiled peanuts are much safer to provide to children and help the body build tolerance,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It provides a high level of protection against accidentally biting into a peanut chocolate bar and having an allergic reaction.”
There are currently no approved therapies or treatments for peanut allergy in Australia, but some have been approved overseas.
Scientists hope the findings of the “promising” boiled peanut study can be tested in a larger clinical trial, but parents are warned not to replicate it at home.
The children in the study started by taking small, slowly increasing amounts of peanuts that had been boiled for 12 hours, twice a day to build up their tolerance (stock image)
Immunotherapy requires children to be closely monitored by doctors, with the consequences of home-boiled peanuts potentially fatal.
Almost three per cent of Australian children have a peanut allergy by the age of one and about 20 per cent of children grow out of the allergy.
However, some peanut allergies do not appear until later in life.
It is one of the most common food allergies in childhood, with some people experiencing a life-threatening reaction if only small amounts of peanut are ingested.