Allergies are caused by an immune system gone haywire and reacting to substances that generally do not affect most people. For example, peanuts are typically harmless. But for those with a peanut allergy, ingestion can trigger a severe, even fatal reaction.
Peanut is one of the most common food allergies in the United States, and its recent rise is dramatic. From 1997 to 2008, the rate of peanut allergies in children has more than tripled, according to a 2010 survey published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Today, peanut allergies affect up to 8 percent of children younger than 3 years of age.
