Okay, so one of the theories about peanut allergies is that a lack of exposure to peanuts may be responsible for an increase in the allergy. Folks point to the fact that peanut allergies are evident at a much lower rate in countries where peanuts are a big part of a baby's diet. And it makes sense, since allergies are an immune system overreaction, so less exposure might be bad, right? Um, maybe not. A study funded in part by the British government found that in households where more peanuts were eaten, kids were more likely to develop peanut allergies.
Now, we should be clear that the study wasn't talking about the kids themselves eating peanuts, but other family members. The thinking is that dust and oil from the peanuts get into the kids' skin and noses, triggering the immune system and leading to an allergic reaction when the kid finally has peanuts for the first time. Here's your quote: "These results suggest that higher environmental exposure to peanuts in
early life in families of those children who went on to develop peanut
allergy may have promoted the development of peanut allergy." By the way, they also found Brazil nuts cause worse breathing problems for the allergic than peanuts, so throw out all that Brazil nut butter.
