A Safe Apple Is Created For Those With Fruit Allergies

Allergies are a true curse of our times, and every year, more and more people find themselves sneezing, itching, suffering from running nose, swollen lips, throat, or tongue, or showing other symptoms of allergies. Sometimes it is very hard to figure out what exact allergy a patient suffers from, and even the best allergy tests fail to give an answer to that question. It may take years to find out what kind of allergy one or another person has developed. Some experts explain the increasing number of various types of allergies and the number of people suffering from this problem with increasing pollution, increasing amounts of toxic substances in everything that surrounds us, including the products we use for cleaning our houses, washing our skin or hair, adding to our daily meals, etc. For example, being allergic to washing powder is becoming more and more common, especially for the people who reside in the most developed countries of the world. There is a truly great number of allergies, and there is very serious threat to  the health of people suffering from allergies due to increased exposure to the allergens, or allergy causing substances.

Being allergic to fruit is actually one of the oldest and arguably the most researched types of allergy. The most common fruit allergies include being allergic to citrus fruits, cherries, peaches, or apples. It is a known fact that some allergies in people are connected with each other, and every three of four people who are allergic to birch pollen also suffer from allergy to apples. Studies have shown that certain varieties of apples (like, for example, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith) usually cause more severe and more frequent allergic reactions. The most common symptoms of this kind of fruit allergy include swollen throat and lips, itching, blistering, and others. These days, it is reported that a group of scientists at at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, managed to create a special breed of hypoallergenic apples designed specially for those people who suffer from this fruit allergy. They used the approach of replacing natural proteins in the apples that cause allergic reactions with modified ones, specially designed to be safer and cause no allergy, even in those people who suffer from the stated type of allergy.

It is reported that the newly created variety of apples has become a result of hard work of an extended group of scientists, including allergy experts, molecular biologists, and even plant psychologists. They focused on mapping out the apples and attempting to figure out the substance that caused allergies. Then, they worked on modifying the genetic content of the discovered substances, and received an improved variety which is good even for the people allergic to fruit. At the same time, the team is still uncertain about possible effects and impact of using their new apple variety for a wide public. ‘You cannot know what will happen when you silence a biological gene,’ said Alessandro Botton, one of the study leaders. He underlined that in our times, allergies are being modified and developed as fast as the new hypoallergenic foods, therefore, there is a certain probability that in some period of time, even this new safe variety will possibly start causing irritation and other common symptoms of fruit allergies.

According to the other Dutch scientist Eric van de Weg, a plant scientist at Wageningen University who also took part in the research,  there is another problem which can make the developed variety of apple unsuccessful in the market. He is convinced that not every person allergic to fruit and apples is going to buy and consume newly created allergy-free apples. As a rule, the mind of such people is geared for avoiding consuming apples since they know that these fruits can cause serious allergic reactions. At the same time, many specialists and allergy experts gave very positive opinions as to the newly developed fruit. According to Dr. Lynn Frewer, an expert from Newcastle University, UK, it is very important to carry out such kind of work and reduce the effects of natural allergens we all are exposed to. If you suffer from a fruit allergy, find more information about the nest way to manage and prevent the symptoms of fruit allergies.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

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