Wednesday, November 14, 2012

An egg a day keeps allergies at bay

Avoiding sweet treats like cakes and cookies might not be necessary for children with egg allergies. New studies presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting found 56 per cent of allergic children can tolerate baked hen’s egg, while 55 per cent outgrow their egg allergy entirely.

“More than half of egg allergic children can tolerate hen’s egg when they are baked at 350 degrees in product such as cakes and breads,” said allergist Rushani Saltzman, lead study author and ACAAI member. “Dietary introduction of baked egg by an allergist can broaden a child’s diet, improve quality of life and likely accelerate the development of an egg tolerance.”

In a separate study also presented at the meeting, Ruchi Gupta, lead study author, found that out of the eight common food allergens, children most commonly outgrew egg allergy.

“Food tolerance was observed in one in four children, with 55 percent outgrowing their egg allergy by age seven,” said Gupta.

“Developing an egg tolerance is the most common for children, followed by milk. A small proportion outgrew shellfish and nut allergies.

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