Treating a deadly allergy has never been easier. At least that's what this study seems to prove. According to the researchers' findings, the best technique will always be to fight fire with fire. Of course it doesn't work for everything, but the proverb is true in this case. We explain everything.
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A remedy based on the same model as vaccines?
In a way, and to summarize very roughly, this miracle remedy works in the same way as vaccines. For those who are afraid of needles, don't worry, no syringes here. Just boiled peanuts. Yes, as crazy as it sounds, it seems that eating boiled peanuts could cure your allergy... to peanuts.
Researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia confirm this. According to the results of their study of dozens of children aged between 6 and 18, they lost their peanut allergy in just a few months.
In fact, just like vaccines, when we come into contact with a harmless microbe, our immune system will produce antibodies that will be vital in fighting the allergy later on.
The boiled peanut remedy
As the researchers explain in a press release of their study:
Oral immunotherapy using boiled followed by roasted peanuts represents a pragmatic approach that appears effective in inducing desensitization and is associated with a favourable safety profile.
Peanut allergy affects around 2% (1 in 50) of children in the UK and the US. This condition can trigger severe bodily reactions. The most serious is anaphylaxis.
A potentially fatal allergy
This form of allergy manifests itself through various symptoms. Firstly, cutaneous, which can trigger oedemas, notable shortness of breath and great difficulty in breathing. Indeed, the constriction of the chest and throat can sometimes lead to a fatal outcome.
The scientists found that heat greatly reduced the molecular impact of peanuts. However, the condition was to boil them for 12 hours every day for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, 56 of the 70 participants tolerated the peanuts without developing any adverse symptoms.
This article is translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
StudyFinds: Eating boiled peanuts may cure children of potentially fatal allergy
Eurekalert!: Can boiled peanuts help cure peanut allergies?
