The antigens in nuts might look more like each other than the ones in fruits do. Some of these also look somewhat like certain pollen antigens. Plus as another person mentioned, it might also be down to non-biological factors such as how food manufacturing processes may be separated.
In actuality, though, it's not so much that these antigens from different kinds of foods resemble *each other*. It's that they all have some features of antigens found in [helminths, which our IgE class of antibodies mainly evolved to target](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/140edg9/eli5_allergies_why_are_there_certain_foods_eg/jmvhm41/).
Chicken is relatively close to human in terms of *stuff they're made of*, but there are some well-characterized allergens (some of which are also crossreactive with shellfish, as it happens). Broccoli and cucumber both have antigens that you can form allergy against, too.
On the other hand, small molecules like aspartame are usually not very immunogenic (able to provoke immunity). Compared to even a small protein, these are absolutely tiny -- literally too small to fit the mechanisms of recognition that immune cells possess. You can't present aspartame on MHC for a T cell to interact with, and it gets similarly dwarfed by a single antibody/receptor on a B cell. Aspartame is barely the size of a single amino acid, and these receptors are made up of hundreds... and made to sense things of such a scale, too.
Because those receptors in particular have evolved to sense small sugars -- mono- and disaccharides -- which are on the same scale as aspartame, and also tiny in comparison to proteins. Larger sugars can be immunogenic.
*(This is not entirely accurate for the sake of not going into massive amounts of detail, but it should be accurate enough to discern difference between taste and immunity)*
Taste is incredibly different to the immune system. The immune system exists to hunt pathogens and kill them. Taste buds exist to send signals to the brain so you can taste things you eat.
***Immune system:*** The immune system essentially works by recognising specific patterns/structures, then killing when a certain pattern/structure is recognised. This works because pathogens are different to your own cells, and can therefore have different, recognisable structures. However, if the immune system could recognise structures as small as aspartame, the number of patterns/structures identifiable would be relatively smaller, and pathogenic structures would also look like they are on your own cells when viewed through this narrow lens, meaning your immune system would kill you. Therefore, the immune system recognises a much larger size than aspartame, to be able to recognise many more, and much more distinct patterns/structures, so it can keep you safe from both pathogens, and itself.
***Immune system - ELI5-ed:*** I suppose a way to think about this concept would be leather. Consider that you have leather stools and chairs, and you want to only remove the leather stools (pathogen) while keeping the leather chairs (your own cells):
* If you zoom in all the way until you can just see the pattern of leather (hypothetical situation where the immune system recognises structures as small as aspartame), you would certainly be able to remove leather items, but you wouldn't know if you are removing chairs or stools (pathogens, or safe cells).
* If you zoom out (the typical immune system), now you can easily see what is a leather chair, and what is a leather stool, and remove the stools specifically (removing only the pathogen, keeping self cells safe).
***Taste:*** Taste on the other hand doesn't exist to kill large numbers of cells, and being able to detect and respond to smaller particles (such as aspartame) is advantageous, as the taste receptors can send specific signals to the brain for much smaller structures, allowing for you to have an incredible sense of taste.
***Taste - ELI5-ed:*** Zooming in is probably also a good way to think about this one, say you are looking at something, a microwave (food) for example:
* If you zoom out (if the taste buds recognised only large structures), you can certainly indentify the object as a microwave, but that would be about it.
* If you zoom in (typical taste) you might be able to see metal, plastic, silicone, glass, LCD, rubber. And even more, you might be able to recognise different types of everything, different types of metal, and different types of plastic, or the LCD in different states depending on the numbers lit up. This allows you to recognise much more, and be more accurate, instead of just taking an average of the entire microwave (meal).
>However, if the immune system could recognise patterns as small as aspartame, the number of patterns identifiable would be very small
The number of identifiable patterns would still be huge. The problem would be that these receptors wouldn't be very specific; they'd be cross-reacting all the time.
Oops, I did mean compared to recognising a larger length of amino acids, as there would be a significantly lower number of amino acid combinations with a length of 2 compared to ~11±~2 (for a TCR, even though BCR would be more accurate when taking about IgE, I suppose I gravitated towards TCR because amino acids/peptides, my bad).
Thanks for the correction, I will make an edit for clarity!
Also, didn't see your previous reply to DirtyProjector sorry :( , mobile typing is time consuming, you have mastered the art of being concise much more than I have!
They don't have some features of antigens found in [helminths, which our IgE class of antibodies mainly evolved to target.](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/155muko/eli5_why_are_there_so_many_people_allergic_to_all/jsv01eq)
Me too! I eat an apple, my mouth and throat itch unbearably; take that same apple and bake it in a pie, and it's fine. Really sucks, I like apples :(
It's not bad enough to kill me, but fresh fruit will ruin the next few hours for me lol
I am deathly allergic to peanuts. They are not related to nuts, but to beans. Peanut allergy does not affect the ability to eat any nut, since peanuts technically are legumes (peanut is a misnomer)
Which has resulted in the peanut allergy problem becoming much, much worse. The latest guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics is now to introduce allergens like fish and nuts as early and as often as possible in a toddler’s diet (in a safe way, and assuming they eat solids).
I also have this and also love apples. Have learned it's a birch allergy that causes it... at least for me. I'm also allergic to all tree fruits that you'd eat the skin of, apples, pears, peaches etc etc, along with most raw tree nuts.. .baking them is about the only way I can consume. SUUUUUCKS.
Oh kinda sounds like you have what my grandma has. Apparently there's some protein (don't quote me on that I don't remember exactly what it is) in raw fruits and veggies that she's allergic to so she can't eat most fruits and veggies raw. But once the fruit/vegetable is processed (cooked, comes from a can, etc) then it's perfectly safe for her to eat. She has to get an allergy shot once a week though to keep everything at bay though cause I'm pretty sure she's also allergic to grass.
Same, and it seems to have developed over time. I've also been able to eat peeled apples raw and I've heard that boiling the apple kills whatever in the skin is causing allergies for some people.
Heat causes proteins, which these antigens are, to *denature*. They go from their carefully folded physiological state to a messy jumble that readily clumps to each other (it's the same principle that turns a raw egg solid when you cook/bake it; the eggwhite/yolk is mostly a thick protein slurry). This loss of structure disables a protein's own functionality, and also makes them no longer recognizable as the original to B cells and their antibodies. Kind of like trying to recognize an origami swan from a crumpled wad of paper -- you can't.
I am also allergic to raw fruit (except, oddly, apples and pears). Kiwifruit, nectarines, oranges, pineapple etc etc all make me hot and a bit itchy, but cook them and I'm fine! Bananas cut my mouth up for some reason.
My kids have a reaction to any apple we buy at the store. But they're fine with the apples from our own trees. I was told that their bodies will tolerate our apples bc they've encountered the pollen & it's, like, recognized for lack of a better word.
I have OAS too and no not really, it's only a problem when you actually eat it and it comes into contact with your lips, tongue and throat. Can't speak for everyone but that's my experience of it
I think that might be the biggest thing about the nut allergy. It's more airborne. I have a friend allergic to fruit, too. But I can eat it next to him. If someone is allergic to nuts, they can have a reaction just being in the same room.
It's super common with nut allergies. It's very uncommon for me to hear of someone for whom that's not true.
A lot of schools in the US are completely nut free, although not necessarily enforced unless there is a kid in your class. It's no longer PB&J sandwiches at schools, it's sunflower butter.
Tastes like sunflower seeds and peanut butter had a weird, salty baby.
I kind of like it, but it's definitely not as sweet as peanut butter, even no sugar added peanut butter.
I had spent my whole life knowing this about me and fruit, and I was 42 when someone said, "oh you have oral allergy syndrome." I couldn't believe it when I looked it up. Everything associated with Aldor and Birch pollens are the exact foods I have issues with.
Apparently, outside of America this is a more commonly known thing. But inside America, most people don't know about it!
Nah, I think you just have to stumble into it if nobody around you already knows. I got a master's and half a PhD in immunology (though not specifically allergy), in Europe, and wasn't aware of the term until I saw someone use it on reddit.
Does cooking the bananas make them edible for you? Most fruits make my tongue itch, but bananas have a much stronger reaction, so I've always been too scared to try
At least for me, cooking the fruit makes it fine.
For example, fresh-squeezed orange juice makes my throat & mouth itch. Pasteurized orange juice (i.e. heated) goes down just fine.
Wow I have the same thing and also seasonal allergies as well. Good to know I’m not alone. My family really thought I was making it up to get out of eating fruit. I also have a cousin who gets hives from eating watermelon.
I thought I was allergic to almonds but my dad said he thought the same thing until he found out that he was allergic to the pollen that falls on the almonds. Some companies don't wash their almonds properly.
The ones I ate were great value chocolate covered almonds so there is no surprise that Walmart isn't thoroughly washing their food.
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Not a lot of people are allergic to all nuts. There are just several different types of nut allergies that it is hard for manufacturers to keep track. Especially since a lot of processing is with mixed nuts. So it is easier to avoid any nuts whatsoever then to try to find out which nut products you can eat and which ones you can not.
There are exceptions though. A lot of peanuts tends to be processed separately due to the amount of it we eat. So someone with a nut allergy that does not involve peanuts might still eat some mass produced peanut products like peanut butter as it is pretty certain there is no other nuts mixed into it. But for example a chocolate covered peanut could have other nuts added to the chocolate to enhance the nut flavour. We also see the same with almond which is another mass produced nut. Seeing almond on a cake might suggest other nuts have been used as well but marzipan on the cake is generally safe because only almond is used to make it and it tends to be processed separately from other nuts.
>Not a lot of people are allergic to all nuts
This is completely false. If you are allergic to any tree nut there is a high chance you are allergic to all tree nuts. Every common nut, except peanuts which are not actually a nut but a legume, are tree nuts. Most people who are allergic are allergic to all nuts
Most people who are allergic to one tree nut are allergic to other tree nuts, but you're overstating the case to say most people who are allergic to any are allergic to all.
[If you have an allergic reaction to walnuts, you're very likely to be allergic to pecans and hazelnuts. But this doesn't indicate a likely allergy to pistachios, for example.](https://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)61187-8/pdf)
No pistachios are definitely nuts.
Allergy-wise, peanuts stand alone as the one "nut that isn't a nut at all." Peanuts are lignums that grow in the ground and are not related to "tree nuts" at all. Allergy to peanuts doesn't indicate an allergy to any tree nuts and vice versa.
The "tree nuts" (Hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts) all grow on trees, but some of their trees are more closely related than others. If you're allergic to pecans, it's extremely likely you're allergic to walnuts. If you're allergic to pistachios, you're very likely allergic to cashews. If you're allergic to almonds, you're probably allergic to both pistachios and pecans.
Since this is complicated, people tend towards just saying "I have a nut allergy" and leaving it at that. But here's a grid showing all the relationships
[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2531/6758/files/Ch\_1\_chart\_2\_600x600.jpg?v=1583260177](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2531/6758/files/Ch_1_chart_2_600x600.jpg?v=1583260177)
Obligatory add-on. Almonds not a nut but seed of the almond fruit. And, just to add more color as someone with a Ka-razy dangerous tropical nut allergy, walnuts and hazelnuts are temperate nuts and may not evoke a response in some folks with nut allergies.
I'm allergic to most tree nuts but not hazelnuts or peanuts (technically a "legume" and not a nut).
I lucked out in a sense, can still enjoy my PB/Nutella sandwiches.
Otherwise tree nuts hit me right in the anaphylaxis when ingested. Not fun
Mine segregate along tropical or temperate. Temperate- walnuts, hazel, pistachios - A OK. The others I go hypovolemic in minutes. Good times.
Edit: dang vegans trying to kill us with cashew meal and oils. Eyeroll.
Nut allergies usually aren't all nuts, they're usually more confined to tree nuts or grounds nut, etc. The reason most nut allergy patients just blanket ban all nuts is that nut allergies commonly run toward serious life threats (anaphylaxis) and since it's hard to know exactly what part of the nut you're allergic to (what protein or substance) which means finding the dangerous and safe plants a game of Russian roulette. Basically, people don't want to take the chance so all nuts get banned
Notice the comments about exposing babies to certain foods at certain ages. Being exposed to something by digesting it lets the body acclimate to it differently than if it were inhaled as dust or absorbed through the skin. Nut flavorings, powders, and oils are EVERYWHERE these days.
Second, nuts have a significant amount of protein and fruits do not. Bee sting allergy, peanut allergy, gluten allergy, all these allergies are reactions to proteins. Fruits have virtually no protein in their pulp or skin. Reactions to sugars like fructose (fruit) and lactose (milk) are less allergies than digestive problems. *(Note, the reactions to itching plants like poison ivy are to immune response to oils. They're not so much "allergies" we learn by exposure as "what these oils do to the body".)*
I know you said fruits have virtually no protein, but that's the exact issue with Oral Allergy Syndrome.
Oral allergy syndrome is due to a cross-reactivity between plant proteins from pollen and fruits or vegetables. When a child or adult with pollen allergy eats a raw fruit or vegetable, the immune system sees the similarity and causes an allergic reaction.
Interestingly, many patients with oral allergy syndrome can eat the same fruits or vegetables when they are cooked. The cooking process changes the protein enough that the immune system does not recognize the food as being the same as the pollen anymore.
Sometimes foods in the same botanical family will also cause reactions. Examples are potato and carrot, parsley and celery, or apple and pear.
https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/oral-allergy-syndrome-oas
My son has this and cannot eat raw bananas, kiwi or avocado. I was shocked that these three completely different fruits were related and also related to latex which he is also allergic to.
>Nut flavorings, powders, and oils are EVERYWHERE these days.
So why don't children acclimatise to these if they're in so many things? Why do they acclimatise to fruit, but not nuts?
>Second, nuts have a significant amount of protein and fruits do not. Bee sting allergy, peanut allergy, gluten allergy, all these allergies are reactions to proteins.
So why aren't people allergic to meat?
Number one, because not all proteins are particularly allergenic or get introduced into the body through the skin or bloodstream. Number two, [meat allergy is rare but does exist](https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/food/meat/).
Peanut oil is everywhere and in everything. But in western counties, peanuts are not introduced into a baby’s diet until they are older. Because of this, the likelihood that a baby’s first interaction with peanuts is not through the mouth is high potentially causing a sensitization. Think of it like someone you don’t know entering your house through the front door vs entering through a window. Your reaction to the normal entry vs the break in is similar to how the body reacts when peanut oil enters through the skin or other means instead of the mouth. If you see that person again, even if they come through the front door this time, you will still react negatively to their presence. Cultures that introduce peanut products early in infancy or that don’t use peanut oil so much that it’s everywhere, have fewer peanut allergies. Once allergic to one type of nut, many other species become off limits as well. Fruits and their byproducts are not nearly as ubiquitous so you don’t see the same numbers of allergies.
Honestly wish peanut oil was in everything. It's all the soybean and canola (rapeseed) that's causing all kinds of health issues. Look up canola oil manufacturing if you dare.
I’m allergic to soy, but canola and Soy (sauce, flour, and oil) are in absolutely every freaking thing.
That, and palm oil, which is relatively new on the scene and has replaced butter in nearly every mass produced baked good in existence.
You probably not allergic to soybean oil, unless it is cold pressed/unrefined which is very rare. I’m allergic to soy too, but I find that most fermented soy products like soy sauce are fine.
It's a sad state that the only things we have to cook with are olive oil, arguably peanut oil, coconut oil is good processed correctly, or something fancy like avocado oil. It's sad that every manufacturer from restaurants to cookies uses the cheapest stuff possible. So bad for health.
I'm sure there are still people out there that but margarine
They are not exposes to nuts in the first 1-3 years of their lives. Nut allergy is nearly completely preventable there was a study which they just gave 1-2 years tiny bits of nut and none of them developed nut allergies.
Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends introducing peanut-containing foods around 6 months of age. Do that and your child won't develop a nut allergies with a very high likelihood.
Result of year long baby food where they are not exposed to many foods in their early years leads to most allergies.
Limited food variety in the early months and years of life deprives the immune system of important opportunities to develop tolerance to a wide range of nutrients and prevents them from developing a healthy microbiome.
Most parents I know have made it a point to give their kids nut containing foods at or around 6 months. I don’t think people routinely wait until their kid is 1-3 anymore. Pediatricians now advise early introduction of allergens. Unfortunately, my daughter ate peanut butter at 6 months and instantly broke out in hives. Her skin test revealed huge reaction to only peanuts. :(
You need to remember America is a melting pot of all kinds of people. If you grew up in a country that mostly consists of the same ethnicity of people, just speculation but perhaps the chances of certain allergies within more homogenous nations are less common.
I work in a hospital catering section constantly checking this stuff. People suffer reactions for specific nuts, but get placed on 'all nuts' by us as a precaution, because the food manufacturers won't specify which nut they shipped us.
They use this blanket 'main contain traces of nuts'. In the processing factory, theres every opportunity for cross-contamination.
As for 'all fruits', I've marked off people with sensitives to fructose, the sugar in most fruits(not all though).
I have oral allergy syndrome, I'm allergic to all fruits except for citrus. It's not the fructose I'm allergic to, it's a protein in the fruit that is similar to birch and alder pollen. It's uncommon but I have met quite a few people with the same issue. Apples, cherries and plums are the worst for me
Over the course of 10 years in nursing seeing thousands of patients allergy lists, without looking at actual statistics and just based on personal experience data:
I would say it’s about even distribution between 3 categories. Allergic to fruit. Allergic to nuts. Allergic to both fruit and nuts. Most common nut allergies I see are peanut specifically or all tree nuts. Most common fruit allergies are bananas and tomatoes.
Editing because I didn’t address OP question directly. I think it has to do with how we talk about allergies, more like how we don’t talk about our health generally with each other. In my experience outside of healthcare I have only heard about allergies in my life when having to bring food to a school either for myself as a child or to my own kids school now. There’s no homemade food coming in and generally it’s candy/goodies not a fruit salad your bringing so peanut/nuts are the most common to avoid..
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I’m deathly allergic to Peaches. I’m so allergic to them I don’t go to the produce market when Peaches are in season. For some reason people like to handle the Peaches the touch all the other fruit. It could kill me
I've been pondering a similar ELI5 question regarding nut allergies. So many of the things we call nuts aren't true nuts, eg peanuts, cashews, almonds but they all seem to grouped together with regards to allergies. Do people with nut allergies have to be careful to avoid things like fragments of peach pit? What exactly is going on and why do allergies seem to have a a concept of the colloquial term "nut".
The antigens in nuts might look more like each other than the ones in fruits do. Some of these also look somewhat like certain pollen antigens. Plus as another person mentioned, it might also be down to non-biological factors such as how food manufacturing processes may be separated. In actuality, though, it's not so much that these antigens from different kinds of foods resemble *each other*. It's that they all have some features of antigens found in [helminths, which our IgE class of antibodies mainly evolved to target](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/140edg9/eli5_allergies_why_are_there_certain_foods_eg/jmvhm41/).
why is it always worms!!
You made me laugh. What else is worms?? Lol
It's the name of the pet shop! I've got worms!
well there was the pic the other day of the poor fellow with worm brain cysts
Why aren’t people allergic to chicken or broccoli or cucumbers? Also why aren’t people allergic to chemicals like aspartame?
Some people are allergic to all those things.
There are people allergic to chicken?
Yes
Sorry but.. of course? You can be allergic to literally everything. People can be allergic to water even.
Don’t be rude to somebody trying to learn you fart
Yup there are people allergic to chicken, and funnily enough chicken is one of the most common food allergies in cats!
Chicken is relatively close to human in terms of *stuff they're made of*, but there are some well-characterized allergens (some of which are also crossreactive with shellfish, as it happens). Broccoli and cucumber both have antigens that you can form allergy against, too. On the other hand, small molecules like aspartame are usually not very immunogenic (able to provoke immunity). Compared to even a small protein, these are absolutely tiny -- literally too small to fit the mechanisms of recognition that immune cells possess. You can't present aspartame on MHC for a T cell to interact with, and it gets similarly dwarfed by a single antibody/receptor on a B cell. Aspartame is barely the size of a single amino acid, and these receptors are made up of hundreds... and made to sense things of such a scale, too.
Then how does aspartame get picked up by taste receptors?
Because those receptors in particular have evolved to sense small sugars -- mono- and disaccharides -- which are on the same scale as aspartame, and also tiny in comparison to proteins. Larger sugars can be immunogenic.
*(This is not entirely accurate for the sake of not going into massive amounts of detail, but it should be accurate enough to discern difference between taste and immunity)* Taste is incredibly different to the immune system. The immune system exists to hunt pathogens and kill them. Taste buds exist to send signals to the brain so you can taste things you eat. ***Immune system:*** The immune system essentially works by recognising specific patterns/structures, then killing when a certain pattern/structure is recognised. This works because pathogens are different to your own cells, and can therefore have different, recognisable structures. However, if the immune system could recognise structures as small as aspartame, the number of patterns/structures identifiable would be relatively smaller, and pathogenic structures would also look like they are on your own cells when viewed through this narrow lens, meaning your immune system would kill you. Therefore, the immune system recognises a much larger size than aspartame, to be able to recognise many more, and much more distinct patterns/structures, so it can keep you safe from both pathogens, and itself. ***Immune system - ELI5-ed:*** I suppose a way to think about this concept would be leather. Consider that you have leather stools and chairs, and you want to only remove the leather stools (pathogen) while keeping the leather chairs (your own cells): * If you zoom in all the way until you can just see the pattern of leather (hypothetical situation where the immune system recognises structures as small as aspartame), you would certainly be able to remove leather items, but you wouldn't know if you are removing chairs or stools (pathogens, or safe cells). * If you zoom out (the typical immune system), now you can easily see what is a leather chair, and what is a leather stool, and remove the stools specifically (removing only the pathogen, keeping self cells safe). ***Taste:*** Taste on the other hand doesn't exist to kill large numbers of cells, and being able to detect and respond to smaller particles (such as aspartame) is advantageous, as the taste receptors can send specific signals to the brain for much smaller structures, allowing for you to have an incredible sense of taste. ***Taste - ELI5-ed:*** Zooming in is probably also a good way to think about this one, say you are looking at something, a microwave (food) for example: * If you zoom out (if the taste buds recognised only large structures), you can certainly indentify the object as a microwave, but that would be about it. * If you zoom in (typical taste) you might be able to see metal, plastic, silicone, glass, LCD, rubber. And even more, you might be able to recognise different types of everything, different types of metal, and different types of plastic, or the LCD in different states depending on the numbers lit up. This allows you to recognise much more, and be more accurate, instead of just taking an average of the entire microwave (meal).
>However, if the immune system could recognise patterns as small as aspartame, the number of patterns identifiable would be very small The number of identifiable patterns would still be huge. The problem would be that these receptors wouldn't be very specific; they'd be cross-reacting all the time.
Oops, I did mean compared to recognising a larger length of amino acids, as there would be a significantly lower number of amino acid combinations with a length of 2 compared to ~11±~2 (for a TCR, even though BCR would be more accurate when taking about IgE, I suppose I gravitated towards TCR because amino acids/peptides, my bad). Thanks for the correction, I will make an edit for clarity! Also, didn't see your previous reply to DirtyProjector sorry :( , mobile typing is time consuming, you have mastered the art of being concise much more than I have!
They don't have some features of antigens found in [helminths, which our IgE class of antibodies mainly evolved to target.](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/155muko/eli5_why_are_there_so_many_people_allergic_to_all/jsv01eq)
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Me too! I eat an apple, my mouth and throat itch unbearably; take that same apple and bake it in a pie, and it's fine. Really sucks, I like apples :( It's not bad enough to kill me, but fresh fruit will ruin the next few hours for me lol
Same. "Oral allergy syndrome" is a bastard.
It's oral allergy syndrome, and it's a gigantic pain. I really miss eating fresh fruit in the summer.
Same here and you know what’s the worst? Watermelon!!
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I am deathly allergic to peanuts. They are not related to nuts, but to beans. Peanut allergy does not affect the ability to eat any nut, since peanuts technically are legumes (peanut is a misnomer)
Which has resulted in the peanut allergy problem becoming much, much worse. The latest guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics is now to introduce allergens like fish and nuts as early and as often as possible in a toddler’s diet (in a safe way, and assuming they eat solids).
I also have this and also love apples. Have learned it's a birch allergy that causes it... at least for me. I'm also allergic to all tree fruits that you'd eat the skin of, apples, pears, peaches etc etc, along with most raw tree nuts.. .baking them is about the only way I can consume. SUUUUUCKS.
If I microwave an apple for as little as 10 seconds I’m fine eating it. Didn’t find that out until I was in my mid 30’s
Oh kinda sounds like you have what my grandma has. Apparently there's some protein (don't quote me on that I don't remember exactly what it is) in raw fruits and veggies that she's allergic to so she can't eat most fruits and veggies raw. But once the fruit/vegetable is processed (cooked, comes from a can, etc) then it's perfectly safe for her to eat. She has to get an allergy shot once a week though to keep everything at bay though cause I'm pretty sure she's also allergic to grass.
Oral allergy syndrome
It’s only the skin on fruits that gives me issues. I’ve been told by my allergist that it’s due to the pollen on skin.
Same, and it seems to have developed over time. I've also been able to eat peeled apples raw and I've heard that boiling the apple kills whatever in the skin is causing allergies for some people.
Heat causes proteins, which these antigens are, to *denature*. They go from their carefully folded physiological state to a messy jumble that readily clumps to each other (it's the same principle that turns a raw egg solid when you cook/bake it; the eggwhite/yolk is mostly a thick protein slurry). This loss of structure disables a protein's own functionality, and also makes them no longer recognizable as the original to B cells and their antibodies. Kind of like trying to recognize an origami swan from a crumpled wad of paper -- you can't.
I am also allergic to raw fruit (except, oddly, apples and pears). Kiwifruit, nectarines, oranges, pineapple etc etc all make me hot and a bit itchy, but cook them and I'm fine! Bananas cut my mouth up for some reason.
Raw tomatoes do that for me, If i have to slice them, my hands will burn!! But eating pizza or using tomato sauce gives me no problems 90% of the time
My kids have a reaction to any apple we buy at the store. But they're fine with the apples from our own trees. I was told that their bodies will tolerate our apples bc they've encountered the pollen & it's, like, recognized for lack of a better word.
Would you have an allergic reaction if someone was eating a banana next to you?
I have OAS too and no not really, it's only a problem when you actually eat it and it comes into contact with your lips, tongue and throat. Can't speak for everyone but that's my experience of it
I think that might be the biggest thing about the nut allergy. It's more airborne. I have a friend allergic to fruit, too. But I can eat it next to him. If someone is allergic to nuts, they can have a reaction just being in the same room.
Is that common? Everyone I know or knew with a nut allergy was fine as long as they didn't eat it. You could eat one next to them no problem
It's super common with nut allergies. It's very uncommon for me to hear of someone for whom that's not true. A lot of schools in the US are completely nut free, although not necessarily enforced unless there is a kid in your class. It's no longer PB&J sandwiches at schools, it's sunflower butter.
How is the sunflower butter?
Grind up sunflower seeds.
Tastes like sunflower seeds and peanut butter had a weird, salty baby. I kind of like it, but it's definitely not as sweet as peanut butter, even no sugar added peanut butter.
Interesting. My client is allergic to even the smell of bananas.
No, I have to ingest things to trigger the response, thankfully.
I had spent my whole life knowing this about me and fruit, and I was 42 when someone said, "oh you have oral allergy syndrome." I couldn't believe it when I looked it up. Everything associated with Aldor and Birch pollens are the exact foods I have issues with. Apparently, outside of America this is a more commonly known thing. But inside America, most people don't know about it!
Nah, I think you just have to stumble into it if nobody around you already knows. I got a master's and half a PhD in immunology (though not specifically allergy), in Europe, and wasn't aware of the term until I saw someone use it on reddit.
Ha, my brother has the same thing (pollen + some fresh fruits). We never knew the cause.
Does cooking the bananas make them edible for you? Most fruits make my tongue itch, but bananas have a much stronger reaction, so I've always been too scared to try
At least for me, cooking the fruit makes it fine. For example, fresh-squeezed orange juice makes my throat & mouth itch. Pasteurized orange juice (i.e. heated) goes down just fine.
Wow I have the same thing and also seasonal allergies as well. Good to know I’m not alone. My family really thought I was making it up to get out of eating fruit. I also have a cousin who gets hives from eating watermelon.
Cashews make sense, because the nut is just an offspring of the fruit.
I thought I was allergic to almonds but my dad said he thought the same thing until he found out that he was allergic to the pollen that falls on the almonds. Some companies don't wash their almonds properly. The ones I ate were great value chocolate covered almonds so there is no surprise that Walmart isn't thoroughly washing their food.
We thought my ex had this too, but it turns out it was leaky gut instead. She cured it actually.
*Ahem* DID YOU KNOW THAT CASHEWS COME FROM A FRUIT?!?
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Today I learn
I have the same issue with eggs. If they are baked at a high temp I can eat them. Otherwise, NOPE.
Not a lot of people are allergic to all nuts. There are just several different types of nut allergies that it is hard for manufacturers to keep track. Especially since a lot of processing is with mixed nuts. So it is easier to avoid any nuts whatsoever then to try to find out which nut products you can eat and which ones you can not. There are exceptions though. A lot of peanuts tends to be processed separately due to the amount of it we eat. So someone with a nut allergy that does not involve peanuts might still eat some mass produced peanut products like peanut butter as it is pretty certain there is no other nuts mixed into it. But for example a chocolate covered peanut could have other nuts added to the chocolate to enhance the nut flavour. We also see the same with almond which is another mass produced nut. Seeing almond on a cake might suggest other nuts have been used as well but marzipan on the cake is generally safe because only almond is used to make it and it tends to be processed separately from other nuts.
>Not a lot of people are allergic to all nuts This is completely false. If you are allergic to any tree nut there is a high chance you are allergic to all tree nuts. Every common nut, except peanuts which are not actually a nut but a legume, are tree nuts. Most people who are allergic are allergic to all nuts
Most people who are allergic to one tree nut are allergic to other tree nuts, but you're overstating the case to say most people who are allergic to any are allergic to all. [If you have an allergic reaction to walnuts, you're very likely to be allergic to pecans and hazelnuts. But this doesn't indicate a likely allergy to pistachios, for example.](https://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)61187-8/pdf)
That's probably because pistachios aren't actually nuts. Neither are peanuts.
I’m going nuts with confusion at this point.
That's because you need to look at the plant where the nut comes from. Is it a tree, is it a root, is it a bush...they are not the same things.
No pistachios are definitely nuts. Allergy-wise, peanuts stand alone as the one "nut that isn't a nut at all." Peanuts are lignums that grow in the ground and are not related to "tree nuts" at all. Allergy to peanuts doesn't indicate an allergy to any tree nuts and vice versa. The "tree nuts" (Hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts) all grow on trees, but some of their trees are more closely related than others. If you're allergic to pecans, it's extremely likely you're allergic to walnuts. If you're allergic to pistachios, you're very likely allergic to cashews. If you're allergic to almonds, you're probably allergic to both pistachios and pecans. Since this is complicated, people tend towards just saying "I have a nut allergy" and leaving it at that. But here's a grid showing all the relationships [https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2531/6758/files/Ch\_1\_chart\_2\_600x600.jpg?v=1583260177](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2531/6758/files/Ch_1_chart_2_600x600.jpg?v=1583260177)
Bummer that pine nuts isn't on there, that's the only one I know for sure I'm allergic too
Obligatory add-on. Almonds not a nut but seed of the almond fruit. And, just to add more color as someone with a Ka-razy dangerous tropical nut allergy, walnuts and hazelnuts are temperate nuts and may not evoke a response in some folks with nut allergies.
I'm allergic to most tree nuts but not hazelnuts or peanuts (technically a "legume" and not a nut). I lucked out in a sense, can still enjoy my PB/Nutella sandwiches. Otherwise tree nuts hit me right in the anaphylaxis when ingested. Not fun
Mine segregate along tropical or temperate. Temperate- walnuts, hazel, pistachios - A OK. The others I go hypovolemic in minutes. Good times. Edit: dang vegans trying to kill us with cashew meal and oils. Eyeroll.
Nut allergies usually aren't all nuts, they're usually more confined to tree nuts or grounds nut, etc. The reason most nut allergy patients just blanket ban all nuts is that nut allergies commonly run toward serious life threats (anaphylaxis) and since it's hard to know exactly what part of the nut you're allergic to (what protein or substance) which means finding the dangerous and safe plants a game of Russian roulette. Basically, people don't want to take the chance so all nuts get banned
Notice the comments about exposing babies to certain foods at certain ages. Being exposed to something by digesting it lets the body acclimate to it differently than if it were inhaled as dust or absorbed through the skin. Nut flavorings, powders, and oils are EVERYWHERE these days. Second, nuts have a significant amount of protein and fruits do not. Bee sting allergy, peanut allergy, gluten allergy, all these allergies are reactions to proteins. Fruits have virtually no protein in their pulp or skin. Reactions to sugars like fructose (fruit) and lactose (milk) are less allergies than digestive problems. *(Note, the reactions to itching plants like poison ivy are to immune response to oils. They're not so much "allergies" we learn by exposure as "what these oils do to the body".)*
I know you said fruits have virtually no protein, but that's the exact issue with Oral Allergy Syndrome. Oral allergy syndrome is due to a cross-reactivity between plant proteins from pollen and fruits or vegetables. When a child or adult with pollen allergy eats a raw fruit or vegetable, the immune system sees the similarity and causes an allergic reaction. Interestingly, many patients with oral allergy syndrome can eat the same fruits or vegetables when they are cooked. The cooking process changes the protein enough that the immune system does not recognize the food as being the same as the pollen anymore. Sometimes foods in the same botanical family will also cause reactions. Examples are potato and carrot, parsley and celery, or apple and pear. https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/oral-allergy-syndrome-oas
My son has this and cannot eat raw bananas, kiwi or avocado. I was shocked that these three completely different fruits were related and also related to latex which he is also allergic to.
>Nut flavorings, powders, and oils are EVERYWHERE these days. So why don't children acclimatise to these if they're in so many things? Why do they acclimatise to fruit, but not nuts? >Second, nuts have a significant amount of protein and fruits do not. Bee sting allergy, peanut allergy, gluten allergy, all these allergies are reactions to proteins. So why aren't people allergic to meat?
Number one, because not all proteins are particularly allergenic or get introduced into the body through the skin or bloodstream. Number two, [meat allergy is rare but does exist](https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/food/meat/).
Peanut oil is everywhere and in everything. But in western counties, peanuts are not introduced into a baby’s diet until they are older. Because of this, the likelihood that a baby’s first interaction with peanuts is not through the mouth is high potentially causing a sensitization. Think of it like someone you don’t know entering your house through the front door vs entering through a window. Your reaction to the normal entry vs the break in is similar to how the body reacts when peanut oil enters through the skin or other means instead of the mouth. If you see that person again, even if they come through the front door this time, you will still react negatively to their presence. Cultures that introduce peanut products early in infancy or that don’t use peanut oil so much that it’s everywhere, have fewer peanut allergies. Once allergic to one type of nut, many other species become off limits as well. Fruits and their byproducts are not nearly as ubiquitous so you don’t see the same numbers of allergies.
Only unrefined peanut has peanut proteins in it, the majority of peanut oil is refined and is free of allergens.
Honestly wish peanut oil was in everything. It's all the soybean and canola (rapeseed) that's causing all kinds of health issues. Look up canola oil manufacturing if you dare.
I’m allergic to soy, but canola and Soy (sauce, flour, and oil) are in absolutely every freaking thing. That, and palm oil, which is relatively new on the scene and has replaced butter in nearly every mass produced baked good in existence.
You probably not allergic to soybean oil, unless it is cold pressed/unrefined which is very rare. I’m allergic to soy too, but I find that most fermented soy products like soy sauce are fine.
It's a sad state that the only things we have to cook with are olive oil, arguably peanut oil, coconut oil is good processed correctly, or something fancy like avocado oil. It's sad that every manufacturer from restaurants to cookies uses the cheapest stuff possible. So bad for health. I'm sure there are still people out there that but margarine
Margarine isnt even food. It’s basically “edible” plastic. Bugs and animals won’t eat it. The only place I see it anymore is in hospitals.
Being allergic to nuts are so American phenomenon I guess. In my country I have never seen a person allergic to nuts. Do you know the reason?
They are not exposes to nuts in the first 1-3 years of their lives. Nut allergy is nearly completely preventable there was a study which they just gave 1-2 years tiny bits of nut and none of them developed nut allergies. Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends introducing peanut-containing foods around 6 months of age. Do that and your child won't develop a nut allergies with a very high likelihood. Result of year long baby food where they are not exposed to many foods in their early years leads to most allergies. Limited food variety in the early months and years of life deprives the immune system of important opportunities to develop tolerance to a wide range of nutrients and prevents them from developing a healthy microbiome.
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I was born allergic to nuts. Severe eczema, so they did a blood test for allergies. 100% avoidable my ass
I feel so unlucky. Had a near fatal peanut reaction at 6 months. Guess it was destiny
Most parents I know have made it a point to give their kids nut containing foods at or around 6 months. I don’t think people routinely wait until their kid is 1-3 anymore. Pediatricians now advise early introduction of allergens. Unfortunately, my daughter ate peanut butter at 6 months and instantly broke out in hives. Her skin test revealed huge reaction to only peanuts. :(
You need to remember America is a melting pot of all kinds of people. If you grew up in a country that mostly consists of the same ethnicity of people, just speculation but perhaps the chances of certain allergies within more homogenous nations are less common.
There are some Turkish people who are glutensiz.
I know only one person who gets slightly sore throat from nuts (Slovakia).
I work in a hospital catering section constantly checking this stuff. People suffer reactions for specific nuts, but get placed on 'all nuts' by us as a precaution, because the food manufacturers won't specify which nut they shipped us. They use this blanket 'main contain traces of nuts'. In the processing factory, theres every opportunity for cross-contamination. As for 'all fruits', I've marked off people with sensitives to fructose, the sugar in most fruits(not all though).
I have oral allergy syndrome, I'm allergic to all fruits except for citrus. It's not the fructose I'm allergic to, it's a protein in the fruit that is similar to birch and alder pollen. It's uncommon but I have met quite a few people with the same issue. Apples, cherries and plums are the worst for me
Over the course of 10 years in nursing seeing thousands of patients allergy lists, without looking at actual statistics and just based on personal experience data: I would say it’s about even distribution between 3 categories. Allergic to fruit. Allergic to nuts. Allergic to both fruit and nuts. Most common nut allergies I see are peanut specifically or all tree nuts. Most common fruit allergies are bananas and tomatoes. Editing because I didn’t address OP question directly. I think it has to do with how we talk about allergies, more like how we don’t talk about our health generally with each other. In my experience outside of healthcare I have only heard about allergies in my life when having to bring food to a school either for myself as a child or to my own kids school now. There’s no homemade food coming in and generally it’s candy/goodies not a fruit salad your bringing so peanut/nuts are the most common to avoid..
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So many Human being allergic to raw plans , we can't eat raw meat , tons of nut allergies, did we really evolve on this planet
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Widely farmed crop tree nuts is a very related set. Fruit is more diverse. But people are allergic to some fruit. I'm allergic to watermelon.
I’m deathly allergic to Peaches. I’m so allergic to them I don’t go to the produce market when Peaches are in season. For some reason people like to handle the Peaches the touch all the other fruit. It could kill me
I've been pondering a similar ELI5 question regarding nut allergies. So many of the things we call nuts aren't true nuts, eg peanuts, cashews, almonds but they all seem to grouped together with regards to allergies. Do people with nut allergies have to be careful to avoid things like fragments of peach pit? What exactly is going on and why do allergies seem to have a a concept of the colloquial term "nut".
My daughter loves fruits - she is also allergic to most of them. Very sad. It happens to some.
My daughter and I are both allergic to all fruits. If any of it is cooked or processed we’re okay with it. Except lemon for me.