What is in peanuts that makes allergies to them so common compared to other food stuffs?
In: Biology
It’s not that peanuts are full of more/a special kind of allergen, it’s actually that certain populations can slowly lose their tolerance to them.
It’s theorized that a lot of common allergies, including peanut allergies, can be traced back to the virtual elimination of the hookworm in first world nations. Hookworms are parasites that are found in & around feces, but they have this weird property where if you’re infected with one & treat it (dramatic language, but it’s a very mild parasite), you actually acquire immunity to a ton of common allergies.
Conversely, you almost never see peanut allergies in areas with poor public sanitation, since hookworm infections are still relatively common there.
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