It's Safe For People With Peanut Allergy To Eat Tree Nuts, Study Suggests

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People who are allergic to peanut may not necessarily mean they are also sensitive to other types of nuts. It is not always the case, and thus they can still eat tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts, a new study suggests.

According to NBC News, those who develop a sensitive reaction to a particular type of nut are not usually allergic to all kinds of nuts. People are told more often that they're allergic to tree nuts based on a blood or skin prick test, Dr. Christopher Couch said. Couch is a Phoenix-based allergist who was an allergy/immunology fellow at the University of Michigan Medical School throughout the period of the study.

It's still best to visit an allergist and get tested for each kind of nut, the researchers stated in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. This is to inform patients who stop eating all kinds of tree nuts while they’re not actually allergic to all.

Fortunately, the majority of those with peanut allergies are not sensitive to tree nuts, Web MD reported. In fact, peanuts are considered as legumes, not nuts.

The researchers, likewise, claimed that over 50 percent of people found allergic to a single type of tree nut are safe to its other kinds. In addition, people found positive in blood or skin prick test to a certain tree nut doesn’t immediately mean a true allergy. It’s especially true when they never encounter that tree nut.

In gauging an allergic status, a food challenge is more reliable as compared to blood or skin prick test. Allergy sufferers are advised to eat foods known to cause sensitive reaction then let an allergist observe the result.

"The findings show that there is a wider margin of error than previously thought [with blood prick and skin tests]," Dr. Couch said. "A positive skin test and/or blood test to a nut does not always indicate a true allergy," he added.