Scientists believe they have made a break through in the battle against food allergies.

As the number of sufferers with an aversion to foods such as nuts, milk and fish increases, a team at the Institute of Food Reseach has identified a molecule which could protect them

Dr. Claudio Nicoletti, who leads the IFR team in Norwich, in the UK, said 'A food protein can be harmless to one person and lethal to another' 'We have identified a molecule that is important for the regulation of immune response and clearly repesents a potential target for therapy allergy.

Tests on mice bred to be allergic to peanuts showed the molecule Interleukin-12 was absent, meaning their immune systems would respond to food proteins as if they were harmful, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reports.

David Reading, director of the Anaphylaxis Campaign said: ' We look forward to further developments.

Figures show that 63 per cent of GP's have seen an increase in patients reporting an allergy last year.

Some 180,000 children in Britain have a nut allergy, a three-fold increase over 20 years. It now affects one person in 70.

About the Author

LINDA PRESTON IS A QUALIFIED HERBALIST WITH A KEEN INTEREST IN HEALTH IN GENERAL & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE. FOR MORE FASCINATING MEDICAL NEWS STORIES VISIT HER BLOG SPOT AT http://medicalnewsguide.blogspot.com