The Peanut Allergy Epidemic Third Edition

Essential reading for every parent of a child with peanut allergies—third edition with a foreword by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Why is the peanut allergy an epidemic that only seems to be found in western cultures? More than four million people in the United States alone are affected by peanut allergies, while there are few reported cases in India, a country where peanut is the primary ingredient in many baby food products. Where did this allergy come from, and does medicine play any kind of role in the phenomenon? After her own child had an anaphylactic reaction to peanut butter, historian Heather Fraser decided to discover the answers to these questions. In The Peanut Allergy Epidemic, Fraser delves into the history of this allergy, trying to understand why it largely develops in children and studying its relationship with social, medical, political, and economic factors. In an international overview of the subject, she compares the epidemic in the United States to sixteen other geographical locations; she finds that in addition to the United States in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden, there is a one in fifty chance that a child, especially a male, will develop a peanut allergy. Fraser also highlights alternative medicines and explores issues of vaccine safety and other food allergies. This third edition features a foreword from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and a new chapter on promising leads for cures to peanut allergies. The Peanut Allergy Epidemic is a must read for every parent, teacher, and health professional.

A must-read for any parent of a child with peanut allergies, this compelling history explains why this epidemic is popping up in modern nations around the...

The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic by Heather Fraser is a must-read for every parent, teacher, and health professional. This far-reaching history of the current epidemic of peanut allergy provides compelling answers to why this condition develops primarily in children and how its prevalence has ballooned to over 3 million people in the US alone. Heather Fraser, an historian and mother of a peanut allergy child, pinpoints the precise moment of this allergy's appearance and describes the perfect storm of social, medical, political and economic factors from which it has grown. With an international overview-more than sixteen geographical locations are analyzed-and thirty pages of endnotes and appendices, Fraser has delivered a meticulously documented and illuminating account of a growing epidemic. Heather Fraser, MA, BA, B.Ed is a Toronto-based writer and the mother of a child who has a peanut allergy.

A revised and updated version of the definitive peanut allergy book. The Most Cutting-Edge Research on Peanut Allergy Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Is Here! Did you know that avoidance of peanuts early in life may actually lead to peanut allergy, the opposite of what was originally believed? Researchers now believe that continued early avoidance of peanut may be behind the steady growth of peanut allergy in the United States and other countries. This surprising new research is among the cutting edge information you’ll find in the third edition of The Peanut Allergy Answer Book. Since its publication in 2001, rates of peanut allergy have tripled, prompting families, patients, and medical professionals to seek clear and concise answers about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The newest edition of this book outlines: - Promising new treatments, including oral desensitization and Chinese herbal medicines - The most recent recommendations for feeding at-risk infants and young children - The latest laboratory tests for determining the risk of life-threatening anaphylaxis

Find the newest peanut allergy research including new treatments. Get at-risk infant feeding recommendations plus the latest laboratory tests for determining risk.

A life-changing, research-based program that will end food allergies in children and adults forever. The problem of food allergy is exploding around us. But this book offers the first glimpse of hope with a powerful message: You can work with your family and your doctor to eliminate your food allergy forever. The trailblazing research of Dr. Kari Nadeau at Stanford University reveals that food allergy is not a life sentence, because the immune system can be retrained. Food allergies--from mild hives to life-threatening airway constriction--can be disrupted, slowed, and stopped. The key is a strategy called immunotherapy (IT)--the controlled, gradual reintroduction of an allergen into the body. With innovations that include state-of-the-art therapies targeting specific components of the immune system, Dr. Nadeau and her team have increased the speed and effectiveness of this treatment to a matter of months. New York Times bestselling author Sloan Barnett, the mother of two children with food allergies, provides a lay perspective that helps make Dr. Nadeau's research accessible for everyone. Together, they walk readers through every aspect of food allergy, including how to find the right treatment and how to manage the ongoing fear of allergens that haunts so many sufferers, to give us a clear, supportive plan to combat a major national and global health issue.

A controversial, revisionist approach to autoimmune and allergic disorders considers the perspective that the human immune system has been disabled by twentieth-century hygiene and medical practices.

Over the past 20 years, public concerns have grown in response to the apparent rising prevalence of food allergy and related atopic conditions, such as eczema. Although evidence on the true prevalence of food allergy is complicated by insufficient or inconsistent data and studies with variable methodologies, many health care experts who care for patients agree that a real increase in food allergy has occurred and that it is unlikely to be due simply to an increase in awareness and better tools for diagnosis. Many stakeholders are concerned about these increases, including the general public, policy makers, regulatory agencies, the food industry, scientists, clinicians, and especially families of children and young people suffering from food allergy. At the present time, however, despite a mounting body of data on the prevalence, health consequences, and associated costs of food allergy, this chronic disease has not garnered the level of societal attention that it warrants. Moreover, for patients and families at risk, recommendations and guidelines have not been clear about preventing exposure or the onset of reactions or for managing this disease. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy examines critical issues related to food allergy, including the prevalence and severity of food allergy and its impact on affected individuals, families, and communities; and current understanding of food allergy as a disease, and in diagnostics, treatments, prevention, and public policy. This report seeks to: clarify the nature of the disease, its causes, and its current management; highlight gaps in knowledge; encourage the implementation of management tools at many levels and among many stakeholders; and delineate a roadmap to safety for those who have, or are at risk of developing, food allergy, as well as for others in society who are responsible for public health.