Causes Of Peanut Allergy

Peanut allergy occurs when your immune system mistakenly identifies the peanut proteins that something harmful. When you have a direct or indirect contact with peanuts, your immune system releases chemicals that cause symptoms in your blood. It is not known exactly why some people are allergic to peanuts and others do not.

Exposure to peanuts can occur in several ways:

Direct contact. The most common cause of peanut allergy is eating peanuts or peanut containing foods. Sometimes direct contact with peanuts can cause an allergic reaction.

Cross contact. It is the unintentional introduction of peanuts into a product. It is usually the result of a food that is exposed to peanuts during processing or handling.

Inhalation. An allergic reaction can occur if you inhale dust or aerosols containing peanuts such as peanut flour or cooking spray peanut oil.

Food allergies vs food intolerance

In some cases, that may be affected by food allergy may actually be a food intolerance. Unlike true food allergy, food intolerance does not involve the immune system. When the actual food allergy, even small amounts of food can cause a serious reaction. In most cases, a person who has a food intolerance can eat small amounts of food only mild symptoms such as indigestion or heartburn.