Growing up, I had an extreme dislike for peanuts, to the point that I would cry when fed them as a baby. My parents had told me at one point that if I tried something many times I would eventually like the taste. I had changed my opinion on many things over the years, such as chicken breast, beans, but never peanuts. When I was 14 years old, my parents wanted to get to the bottom of why I disliked peanuts so much, so I had a scratch test done for allergies and no surprise, peanuts was at the top of the list for what I was allergic to the most. What confused my parents and caused them to think I was not allergic was the fact that I would eat Kettle Brand potato chips on the regular which were cooked in peanut oil with no affects whatsoever. So what is the science behind having an allergic reaction to peanuts, but not peanut oil?
According to this article, there is one big reason why peanut oil would cause no reaction: it is an oil. When antibodies are used to fight off pathogens, they seek out surface proteins to attach to in order to attenuate any pathogen. This is because all living things, including viruses, contain proteins in order to carry out basic biological functions. Therefore any possible threat that can multiply within the body can be targeted. When peanuts are consumed, antibodies are able to attack the available proteins. According to this source, on average, a single peanut can have around 200 milligrams of protein, however a reaction can be caused by as little as 100 micrograms of protein, resulting in a large reaction from small amounts of peanuts. Peanut oil differs from peanuts because an oil only consists of fatty acids. So long as the oil is well refined (usually industrial grade), there is a very unlikely chance that your body can elicit a reaction.
To summarize, while peanuts are known by many to create an intense reaction, the reality is that not everything that is derived from peanuts can cause a reaction. If you do have a peanut allergy and want to try peanut oil, be prepared with an epinephrine auto-injector.
Posted by: Isaac Collibee (4)
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I would have never guessed that it is 'safe' to consume peanut oil if you are allergic to peanuts. But I think if you approach this from a scientific point of view, it is understandable why. Oil is not a protein, and thus antibodies can't be produced. That said, it is interesting that you dislike that taste of peanuts, but not of peanut oil. Oil is a stronger carrier of flavors and aromas, compared to protein. But I guess potato chips are so over flavored so that there is little to no peanut taste left.
ReplyDelete-Gene
It does not really make any sense to me either. I cannot stand the taste of peanuts, but peanut oil tastes completely fine. It is likely because I cannot taste the actual peanuts due to my allergic reaction causing my mouth to hurt.
DeletePrevious comment posted by Isaac Collibee
DeleteI have family members that are severely allergic to peanuts so this post really stuck out to me. I would have never thought that it was the surface proteins in the peanuts that the antibodies actually react to so it makes total sense as to why someone with a peanut allergy could consume well refined peanut oils. It would be interesting to see experiments carried out for this but, obviously, it could cause a lot of harm unless possibly done in petri dishes. I wonder if there are any experiments like that being carried out.
ReplyDeleteBrianna Luciani
I am super fascinated with peanut allergies, especially their weird prevalence in the US but not in other countries! Not too long ago I listened to this podcast on peanut allergies called "Science Vs" by Gimlet Media. I highly recommend the podcast if you want to further your learning on peanut allergies. In Israel, it is rare that children develop peanut allergies. Scientists noticed that many Israeli children grow up eating a peanut snack called "Bamba" and wondered why they didn't have nearly as many reportings of peanut allergies as the US. They ended up finding out that it is the way that our bodies are first exposed to the molecules that determines if we develop an allergy or not. Peanut oil and peanut products are so prevalent in all our foods here in America that peanut molecules can be found in the bed sheets of children who were kept peanut free their whole lives, indicating that if the molecule is introduced first through the skin, then a child is likely to develop an allergy.
ReplyDeletePosted by Lauren Mason
Interestingly enough, I had a conversation with my roommate about this exact topic not too long ago. He has a severe allergy to peanuts and, as one would expect, avoids them at all costs. However, his favorite foods in general all come from Chick-fil-A, where they cook all their food in peanut oil. At first I asked why he would eat there if he was allergic to peanuts, and I even questioned him when he gave his reasoning. He explained to me that since they use 100 percent refined peanut oil any proteins that normally would cause his body to go into anaphylactic shock were subsequently removed in the refining process. He also explained to me that while some residual protein may be mixed in with the fatty acids in the oil, the amount is too low for his antibodies to detect the protein as a threat. I found both our conversation and this article to be thought provoking as it gave me a deeper look into a subject I never had truly studied before.
ReplyDeletePosted by James Levangie
I find this topic incredibly interesting since my younger brother has a severe peanut allergy. Last summer, my aunt accidentally packed the same brand of potato chips mentioned in your post (Kettle brand) in my younger brothers lunch and he ate them. After realizing what he had consumed, he immediately went to the nurse. There was a serious debate between my aunt, the school nurse, and the 911 operator about whether or not to administer the Epi-Pen since my brother had nothing more than a slight stomach ache and didn't appear to be going into anaphylactic shock. He ended up going to the hospital, taking a nap, and being sent home with no treatment other than benadryl. I have been extremely curious ever since as to how he didn't experience a severe reaction after eating the chips. I now understand that it was because the oil only contained fatty acids as opposed to actual peanut proteins that could be acted upon by antibodies. Thank you so much for posting about this!
ReplyDeletePosted by Kayla Rosiello
No problem, I was thinking for a while about and during my thinking session, I ate a cookie that I didn't realize had peanuts inside, the topic was on my mind for a while because of that and I remembered the fact that peanut oil was fine for me to consume.
Delete-Isaac Collibee
This is a very interesting and relevant topic to read. As peanut allergy is among one of the top most common food allergies, it is surprising that peanut has been discovered to trigger no allergic reaction. I myself also suffer from food allergy for eggs. Since there are no treatment currently to permanently cure food allergies, I have always been told that maybe someday I could outgrown it by building up the tolerance for it slowly. Reading this post makes me wonder if there are similar types of things like the peanut oil for other foods that would not trigger an allergic reaction.
ReplyDelete-Emily Wong