In recent years, peanut allergies have become a much less common symptom in childhood, thanks to a major change in the advice doctors now give to parents. However, despite this significant progress, RFK Jr. is now searching for another culprit – one who is more in line with his twisted ideology.
It may be difficult to list Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health problems. Not there. Blame the vaccines. In the latest development, the US Health and Human Services secretary argued that children’s peanut allergies are being caused by the dangerous jab.
Kennedy made the comments during an event organized by the Food Allergy Fund on Monday. After debunking the leading theory for the recent increase in peanut allergies — decreased exposure to the food in our youngest years — they speculated about aluminum contained in some vaccines as well as pesticides. He then resolved to conduct research that could uncover the alleged real culprits behind this situation.
He said, “Those studies were never done. We’re going to do them now and we’ll identify what’s causing these allergies.”
However, ironically, food allergy rates have already declined in the US, with doctors recently telling parents to wean their children off peanuts as soon as possible.
aluminum is directionless
RFK Jr. relied on personal anecdotes to refute scientific evidence. She said the connection between food allergies and lack of early exposure made no sense to her because of her experiences with her own children, five of whom had allergies. One baby’s peanut allergy was reportedly so severe that he had to go to the emergency room 22 times before he turned two.
“My house was full of peanut butter and I was eating peanut butter for two meals a day and my wife was eating peanut butter when she was pregnant,” he said, adding that we should instead focus on environmental factors like aluminum in vaccines and pesticides.
Aluminum is sometimes added to vaccines to increase their ability to generate appropriate immune responses from our bodies. And its inclusion may cause local reactions to vaccination, such as redness or pain at the injection site (this is usually a sign of an immune response developing as expected). Scientists have studied this possible link in depth – to see if there may be any long-term health risks from this ingredient – and the majority of this research has failed to find anything concerning.
For example, a study published last June found no association between total aluminum exposure from vaccinations during the first two years of life and a higher risk of 50 different conditions, including allergic disorders. Meanwhile, some research has shown that pesticide exposure may increase the risk of asthma, though not other types of allergies.
It’s also worth noting that people are exposed to small doses of aluminum from all sorts of things, and the amounts used in vaccines are usually much lower than the amounts we get from food or drinks.
This is hardly the first time that Kennedy and his anti-vaccination allies have tried to point to aluminum in vaccines as a serious threat. And not surprisingly, a lot of health experts and groups are not on board.
Earlier this October, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated clearly: “Evidence shows that vaccines containing aluminum are safe and beneficial to the health and well-being of children. Research has not found evidence that aluminum in vaccines causes autoimmune conditions, neurodevelopmental disorders, or serious adverse events.”
problem needs solution
What makes this latest drivel from Kennedy all the more shocking is its timing. Allergies are a complex condition, and there can often be more than one cause behind it, such as our genetics. But real-world results have strongly validated the hypothesis of early exposure to prevent food allergies.
For many years, doctors have told parents to avoid feeding peanuts to their children early in life (before age three), based on some studies that suggested a possible risk of sensitization. But a landmark study in 2015 failed to support that risk and instead pointed to a preventive effect from early exposure. Eventually, this evidence convinced enough experts to change their stance.
Starting in 2015, various medical groups changed their guidelines on peanut allergy, which were followed by more in 2017. Now he advised parents to give peanut-rich foods to their children from the age of four months. In the years since that change, food allergies have declined rapidly in the US. A study earlier this October found that diagnosed cases of peanut allergies dropped by 43% after the change in 2017, while food allergies in general dropped by 36%.
Some children can and will still have allergies, even if they are exposed to peanuts early in life. And as this recent change in guidelines shows, sometimes things go wrong in the beginning with medical consent. But at the end of the day, I would trust the scientific process more than RFK Jr.’s decision-making ability.