Kathy Chat: Nut Free?

FAT free DAIRY free NUT free CAFFEINE free SUGAR free CALORIE free MEAT free GLUTEN free WHEAT free EGG free DYE free CARB free SODIUM free

...What's left?

For the next few days I'll examine the science behind these FREE-OF claims and which labels may actually be useful to you and your family. Read on to see this weeks first discussion and some interesting new research about NUT FREE and PEANUT ALLERGIES...NUT FREE, PEANUT FREE

It seems that there is a trend among kids today. Nut allergies! Back in college, I used to work at the Friends of the National Zoo summer camp in Wash DC. I was shocked by the numbers of parents who would call in to say "NO NUTS for TIMMY!" At first I thought they were simply over-protective, like my mom and my love of climbing trees...

But a new article suggests that the very fearfulness of young parents regarding PEANUTS, may be what is driving the increase in PEANUT allergies...
The theory says that by exposing kids to peanuts at a young age--they will build up a healthy tolerance for them.

I know that as a child I was deathly allergic to cats. I would need to be rushed to the hospital for an asthma treatment if I spent more than ten minutes with a feline. This being said, I LOVE animals. So I would often spend the night at friends homes who had cats. I would pet cats in our neighborhood, and I didn't really stay aways from being exposed to them...

And today, I have a cat-and I am free of feline allergies!

hmmm...

Read this article by ABC if you want to learn more about this new PEANUT ALLERGY RESEARCH:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Allergy/story?id=6097888&page=1

...And check back for more in my FREE SERIES!