Oral Immunotherapy for Food Allergies

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Research has looked at oral immunotherapy for food allergies. What are those? And how do they work? So what we do is whether or not you have a single or multiple food allergy, we give you those exact foods that you are allergic to. Over time, you're building your immune muscle and within about one to two years, you can reach levels that at least protect you against an accidental ingestion of that food.

Food allergies appear to be increasing globally, but as scientific understanding improves, some experts believe we may one day be able to eliminate them altogether. Ian Sample speaks to Dr Kari Nadeau, an allergy specialist at Harvard School of Public Health and author of the book The End of Food Allergy, to discuss why food allergies are on the rise and what we can do to prevent – and possibly even cure – them. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod