The Murdoch Children’s Institute is tackling nut allergies in Australian trials

Researchers are working to rewrite Australia’s reputation as allergy capital of the world, with their work helping children kick hypersensitivities

Kiaan was only ever allowed to have a taste, just a fragment of a teaspoon of nut butter in a hospital room. But after nine months of small samples under watchful eyes, the 2½-year-old has nipped his nut allergy in the bud.

After he had a severe allergic reaction to eggs at nine months, Kiaan’s mother Nidhi Shah had him tested and discovered that he was also allergic to peanuts, cashews and pistachios.

The diagnosis is not uncommon for children Kiaan’s age. Some 10 per cent of infants have allergies, and nuts are among the most common allergens.

The rapid prevalence of allergies over the past 20 to 30 years led the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne to design studies to help curb the condition. Their trial called Tre­Eat is the reason Kiaan can now enjoy a nut-inclusive diet.

Associate Professor Kirsten Perrett, Clinician-Scientist Fellow at the MCRI, said TreEat used two methods: one which involves administering nut butter – a paste made up of almond, cashew, hazelnut and walnut – in hospital, and another which introduces single tree nuts at home.

“The main aim for a number of our trials is to get children to school without their food allergy or an EpiPen,” she said.

“We just try and make it appealing for the infants to tolerate. So at the doses we increase every 15 minutes and we mix each dose, like an eighth of a teaspoon with apple puree … Kiaan outgrew his cashew and peanut allergies by eating regularly all the nuts that it was safe to do so.”

Professor Perrett said children should be introduced to allergens like nuts, cooked egg and dairy in their first year of life.

But the fight to prevent allergies could start even earlier, with MCRI recruiting for their PrEggNut study which aims to determine the egg and nut intake that could be protective against developing allergies.

“We know that the ideal time to prevent food allergy might be when the immune system is developing. So that might be during pregnancy or breastfeeding,” Professor Perrett said.

Meanwhile, the team at the MCRI are producing a cookbook called the Allergy Friendly Family Cookbook that includes more than 100 recipes crafted by the Taste magazine and website.

Penny Fowler, the community ambassador for News Corp, publisher of both Taste and The Weekend Australian, says the book – which is due out on March 22 – will be “a kitchen classic”.