New Evidence Supports Theory That Bamba Prevents Peanut Allergies

According to the study, children who ate Bamba had a 75% lower incidence of peanut allergies.

By Shula Rosen, United with Israel

It’s long been suspected that the beloved Israeli peanut butter snack may the reason for the lower incidence of peanut allergies in the Jewish State.

The rate of peanut allergies in Israel is about 10% of that in the US, and researchers the world over are looking to Israel for a key to preventing the dangerous condition.

This hunch has been confirmed with new research that children who eat Bamba have a 75% lower chance of experiencing an adverse reaction to peanuts.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine involved British and US researchers tracking Jewish children starting from 2008 to see if Bamba reduced peanut allergies.

The subjects of the study were 640 babies aged 4 to 11 months who showed a tendency to develop certain allergies and half of whom were already allergic to peanuts.

The groups were further divided into categories of those who ate Bamba regularly under the age of 5 and those who didn’t.

Dr. Elee Shimshoni, who wrote about the study for Little, Big Science, explained that Israeli children are often given Bamba at a young age because “it sort of melts in your mouth.”

After several years, researchers discovered that only 10% of the children who ate Bamba developed peanut allergies compared to 35% of the non-Bamba eaters.

A follow-up study when the participants turned 12 showed that 15.5% of the non-Bamba eaters had peanut allergies and only 4.4% of the Bamba eaters were allergic to peanuts.

Shimshoni said that the assumption of the study is that after the age of 12, peanut allergy resistance will last for the rest of their lives, and added that a follow-up study may be needed to confirm this.

Peanut allergies are often severe an are responsible for difficulties breathing, swelling, hives and blood pressure irregularities when exposed to peanuts.

The allergy can be difficult to deal with since the legume is used in the processing of many everyday products.

Researchers commented that any treatment to reduce the incidence of peanut allergies “would improve the children’s socialization and the quality of life of the children and their families.”