An estimated 4 percent of Americans have food allergies, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded that allergies are a growing public health concern. But diagnosing allergies can be tricky, and kids can outgrow them, too.
Now, a new study sheds light on the effectiveness of a test called a food challenge to determine whether a person can tolerate a food they once reacted to.
Jula Cieciuch, a fifth-grader who lives in Telluride, Colo., recently took a food challenge to find out if she was still allergic to eggs.
When she passed, she was ecstatic. After years of avoiding all foods with eggs, she was a bit shocked. “For so long, it was: You can’t eat this. You can’t eat this,” Jula says. ” I was very emotional!”
She’s also outgrown allergies to walnuts and almonds. “It’s a huge relief … it has really opened up her diet — a lot,” her mom, Kendall Cieciuch, told us. Once you can eat eggs, you can eat cakes and breads and frittatas, and lots of other baked goods.
Jula is still allergic to some foods, including milk and cashews, so she still needs to be careful. But Kendall says every time she’s crossed a food off her allergy list, “it makes life a little easier.” To read more from Allison Aubrey, click here.