When we talk about nuts, we mean hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, and macadamias. From a biological point of view, peanuts are not nuts, but legumes. That’s why some people with peanut allergies test positive in blood tests and sometimes have allergic reactions to other legumes, such as peas, soybeans, beans, lupine flour, and lentils. Coconut, nutmeg and chestnuts belong to another family and do not contribute to cross reactions with walnuts/peanuts. Although it is possible to have a coconut allergy, this is very rare. Many people also have question and that is nutmeg a nut?
Food allergic reactions occur when the body reacts to certain proteins in food. Nut allergy is considered one of the most common food allergies, and is a type of allergy that usually lasts a lifetime. One of the reasons why this type of allergy is so common is because a large part of the population suffers from pollen allergy. This can cause cross allergies and/or cross reactions, for example with nuts.
What reactions do walnuts/almonds/peanuts produce in an allergic person?
Nut/peanut allergy can cause quite strong reactions, although not everyone reacts the same way. The most typical reactions to eating nuts are itching and inflammation of the mouth and throat. Other symptoms that may appear are an outbreak of eczema, hives, stomach pains and vomiting. In certain cases, there may be life-threatening reactions (allergic shock). Reactions to almonds are not as common as reactions to walnuts.
It seems that children react more strongly than adults to this type of allergy. About half of children with peanut allergies react to the simple smell, taste or touch, and only 10% of adults react that way.
What is reacted to?
Tree nut/almond/peanut proteins are what do the reaction. Walnut powder can cause a severe allergic reaction in certain patients. The most common reactions to walnut powder are allergic cold, worsening of eczema and asthma attacks.
How to treat allergy to nuts/almonds/peanuts?
Generally, food allergy is treated simply by removing the food that is not tolerated from the food regimen (diet). For those allergic to nuts, the type or types of nut that cause the allergic reactions should be eliminated from the diet. Some have allergies to all types of nuts or find it easier to eliminate nuts altogether from the diet. This is something that each one must decide, based on what the doctor recommends. Almonds, peanuts and walnuts do not have any allergens in common (allergen = allergy-causing substance). That is, if the patient is allergic to one of them, he is not necessarily allergic to the others.
Where are walnuts/almonds/peanuts?
Foods that frequently contain nuts are nougat, walnut/hazelnut spreads, desserts, nougats, various crisps, almond/marzipan crust tarts, and Norwegian wedding cakes called kransekake. Other foods that often contain nuts are cookies, biscuits, breakfast cereal mixes, salads, bread, desserts, chocolate, ice cream, some types of pesto, certain types of foreign dishes (for example some oriental specialties).
There are plant-based oils that contain peanuts. If the product has been refined, there should be no protein residue, however, cold-pressed oils do contain protein residue.
The lupine/lupine flour used in bakery and/or pastry contains proteins that produce cross-reactions with peanuts. Lupine/lupine flour has also been discovered in hot dog/sausage bread (the Norwegian pølsebrød). There are reports of severe reactions from people with peanut allergies who have consumed this type of bread. It should be remembered that the allergy does not decrease when cooking or frying these products.
Labeling of food products:
All nuts and peanuts must always have a label that includes the name of the nut in the list of ingredients if they are used in the recipe of any product. This obligation to declare the content of the product is also valid for foods that do not come in packaging, that is, those foods that are sold without packaging in supermarkets, restaurants, canteens, etc.
There are some food products where the mention appears: may contain nut residues. This does not mean
