Nut allergies are becoming more and more common. If you are cooking for someone with a nut allergy or are newly diagnosed yourself these tips should help.
What are nut allergies and how are they caused?
A nut allergy is an allergy to one of the nuts or seeds in the botanical family known as the Fagaceae. The most common types of nuts that cause allergies are walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans.
Nut allergies can be caused by two different things:
1) When a person’s immune system mistakes a nut for something harmful and produces antibodies to fight it off
2) Exposure to a substance in the environment (such as pollen), which triggers an allergic reaction – this type of exposure is called secondary contact sensitisation
Reactions to nuts from those with allergies
Nut allergy symptoms can be severe and in some cases fatal. Milder reactions can include itchiness, hives or swelling of the lips, tongue, face, hands or feet; a runny nose; or wheezing. More serious reactions may include diarrhoea and vomiting. What may seem a milder reaction like swelling of the lips can also hide internal reactions like swelling of the throat.
This is not an exhaustive list of the adverse reactions caused by nut allergies but it highlights the most common symptoms.
In many cases, people have no idea they are allergic to nuts until they have an adverse reaction to them. If you are with someone with a known allergy find out when they will need to administer their medication and what the signs are for them to keep them safe.
Foods to avoid which may contain nuts
Whilst most foods are labelled well it is also worth avoiding things that are made in environments that contain nuts if you are needing to be particularly careful. This can also include places serving items together.
For example, if you are buying cakes from a lovely bakery and the Nutella cake is next to the allergy-friendly cake there is still a huge risk of cross-contamination!
In the UK it is the law that all items that contain nuts are marked as such, they also should state if they may contain traces of nuts. Unless the person you are cooking for has told you otherwise you should always avoid anything that says may contain traces of nuts too just to be sure there has been no cross-contamination.
Cooking in a kitchen which has used nuts previously
If you are cooking in a kitchen where you have previously cooked with nuts then whilst there will always be a small risk there are a few things you can do to eliminate some risks.
Avoid wooden chopping boards, spoons etc. The allergens can remain on the spoon even when it has been washed up.
Wash all utensils well before using them in as hot water as possible.
If you are unsure of the safety of your oven trays etc you can line them with foil to reduce any further risks.
Do not use any open packets of things like rice, pasta, spices etc that could have been open in the presence of nuts. It is much safer to open a fresh packet than the risk of it having been unknowingly contaminated.
Remember when the kids go back to school they often have to have nut-free lunch boxes too if anyone in the school has an allergy!
did you know you can get new or changed allergies during menopause?
Do you have any other tips? Let us know in the comments!
