Welcome to Straight Talk on Health. I’m your host Dr. Chet Zelasko. Straight Talk on Health is a joint production with WGVU in Grand Rapids MI. I examine the practical application of health information. Nutrition. Exercise. Diet. Supplementation. I look at the science behind them, and let you know whether it’s something to consider or not. You can check out other things that I do on my website Drchet.com and sign up for my free emails.
Peanut allergies can result in some of the most severe allergic reactions including anaphylactic shock; it’s especially horrible when it happens to children. While research continues on how to overcome a current allergy to peanuts, the best option is to prevent the allergy from occurring. Recent research has shown that’s possible.
The research question was developed theway much research does: with an observation. The observation was simple. Why do Jewish children born and raised in Israel have far fewer severe allergies to peanuts than Jewish children born and raised in the US or the UK? Fortunately, all countries involved have electronic medical databases. That allows children to be identified and followed after birth to see the numbers of how many babies were born in each country that developed allergy tested tendencies and diagnoses of all allergies including peanut allergies.
Researchers decided to answer the question and find out why Jewish children raised in Israel had fewer peanut allergies than children raised in the United Kingdom or the United States. In the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) trial, researchers assigned 680 babies with allergies to one of two groups based on their reaction to a peanut pin-prick test. One group was given peanuts snacks beginning at 4 to 11 months old, and members of the other group were not exposed to peanuts. They tracked the children for five years and found that 13.7% of the children who weren’t exposed to peanuts developed peanut allergies, while only 1.7% who were exposed to peanuts early developed peanut allergies. This falls into the category of being a landmark study.
Prior to 2015, guidelines for food exposure for peanuts always cautioned parents regarding peanut allergies. I can understand why, as having a child, especially an infant, have an anaphylactic shock reaction to peanuts would freak out anyone! But in light of the LEAP study, the guidelines for exposure to peanuts were changed in 2016 to encourage peanut exposure earlier in life. That doesn’t mean that every physician followed the guidelines when talking to parents and it doesn’t mean even if they had that parents would want to risk it.
Let’s update to the present. Researchers followed groups of children in the U.S. diagnosed with atopic dermatitis from birth through three years old over two time frames: before the peanut exposure guidelines were introduced for one to two years and after the peanut guidelines were changed for one to two years. They used medical records for diagnoses and blood markers that indicate peanut sensitivity. There was a significant decrease in peanut allergy diagnoses in the follow-up period after the guidelines were introduced compared to before the guidelines. In plain language, when applied to the entire population of children in the U.S., that means thousands of children may never develop severe allergies to peanuts.
We want to protect our children, and especially their health. One possible way to protect them is to make sure they’re exposed to a varied diet. Before the Guidelines were changed, the objective was to limit their exposure to anything that might cause problems, but the LEAP study demonstrated that could be a mistake. Discuss potential allergies with your pediatrician if your child shows any signs of allergic reactions, including something relatively simple like a rash. Get their opinion on the best course of action related to food sensitivities. If a little exposure now prevents more serious issues later, that seems like the best course of action. But you have to do what you believe is in the best interest of your children—I wouldn’t make this change without consulting our pediatrician, and I hope you wouldn’t either.
One final note: this only applies to very young children. If they have already been diagnosed with severe peanut allergies, that’s a different issue. Make sure you follow procedures that your physician has recommended, and never leave the house without an EpiPen. To me, the latest research shows hope for the future to perhaps, genetics aside, there may be a natural way to prevent allergies or at least have less serious reactions in the future.
Let’s turn to the approaching new year again. There are some things that I hate to do as much as you. Getting a physical is at the top of the list. But the one thing that drives me being in the health field is that I have to lead by example. That’s why I quit smoking a whole lot of years ago. How could I teach people how bad smoking was when I did it myself. That’s why I worked hard at getting my cholesterol and blood pressure under control without medications. I don’t just talk diet and exercise. I do it—certainly not perfectly—but I do it.
One thing I believe in is getting a yearly physical, especially if you’re over 50. You may have unknown conditions such as HBP, high cholesterol, prediabetes, even an underactive thyroid. Those aren’t things you can necessarily feel when they begin. With a physical, you may catch them early and thus may not have to rely on medications IF you know you have the problem and that’s what you can find out during your physical.
But I don’t think that’s enough anymore. I completely understand that health care coverage is in flux at the present time. I still think that eyes and teeth are too important to neglect until there is a problem. A dental appointment can identify potential areas of concern. Once you know what potential areas of concern, you can work with the dentist on a plan of attack. Addressing it before you need a root canal and/or a crown, even if it delays extreme expenses for a while, that can help prevent future problems that may be even worse. No one likes to go to the dentist but it can be worth it in the long term. Losing teeth translates to poor chewing in the future.
Also, make sure you brush your teeth and floss every day. I haven’t missed a day of flossing since November 1988. Why? Because I saw the bone loss around my teeth and decided flossing was the best preventive measure I could take. Bone was restored and I haven’t lost any teeth since then but because of poor dental care before then, I have more than my share of crowns.
Finally, regular eye check-ups are also critical. About 10 years ago I went to get my eyes checked for glasses and was diagnosed with glaucoma. I’ve been able to keep my eye pressures lower. I have lost a bit of vision due to the damage to the nerve but it’s minor compared to what it might have been if I continued to rely on reading glasses from a pharmacy. A new challenge is cataracts. They’ve been monitored over the last few years and it’s time to replace the lens. That should clear up the vision cloudiness I’ve developed. Again, without regular eye check-ups, who knows what issues may have developed like macular degeneration. As science advances, more preventive techniques and treatments have been developed. The latest research has determined that your eye has its own microbiome and it is connected to your digestive microbiome. That’s a story for another day.
Again, prevention is better than treatment so as we enter the new year, make sure you schedule your appointments for a physical, with a dentist, and with an optometrist or ophthalmologist for your eye health. It’s the best thing you can do to gain direction for health habits to develop this coming, or any other year as well. Better to find out and begin working on it than ignoring it until something serious happens. Your body. Your choice.
That’s all the time I have for this episode. If you like this podcast, please hit the share button and tell your friends and colleagues about it. Until next time, this is Dr. Chet Zelasko saying health is a choice. Choose wisely today and every day.
References:
1. N Engl J Med 2015;372:803-813
2. Pediatrics (2025) 156 (5): e2024070516.
