Our peanut allergies were deadly now we eat them every day thanks to a well-worn routine

It’s a nut-so miracle! For two British men, peanuts used to be a death sentence.Now? They’re a morning snack.Both suffered from lifelong peanut allergies that had sent them to the hospital before joining a nine-month study in the UK — where two-thirds of participants came out able to safely eat peanuts.Chris Brookes-Smith, 28, was terrified of peanuts after some Indian takeout sent him to the hospital with hives that he likened to boiling water being poured over his body.“I thought I was going to die,” he told the BBC.

This life-threatening allergy made activities that should have been enjoyable — like eating out with friends or traveling — fraught with peril.He even avoided visiting regions of the world where peanuts were likely to be in his food, like Southeast Asia.That was until a clinical trial conducted by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust changed his life.“It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said.

“I’m no longer afraid of dying.”The trial utilized a method called oral immunotherapy, in which the body becomes desensitized over time with microscopic doses of the allergen.They started patients off with trace amounts of peanut and gradually increased the amount.By the end of the nine-month study, 14 of the 21 patients could eat up to five peanuts a day without having a reaction.

Professor Stephen Till, who led the study, told the BBC that the treatment “has potential to have a real impact on patients’ lives.They’ve taken control, if you like, of their peanut allergy now.”That certainly seems to be how Richard Lassiter, 44, feels.

“There was definitely a sense of nerves at first.You know, you have to get your mind around the idea of eating something you’ve tried to avoid your whole life,” Lassiter told Sky News.

“I obviously had a couple of [dangerous] incidents reasonably fresh in my mind.”Now, eating four peanuts — under medical supervision — is just a normal part of his morni...