Fighting food allergies one bite at a time

Doctors are trying a new approach to fighting food allergies, by having children consume the very foods they are allergic to.

A doctor out of Denver is a food allergy expert at National Jewish Health. He's treated kids with a technique known as Immunotherapy.

Patients are tested by a "food challenge" that tell doctors exactly what foods kids are allergic too. Then, using small doses of powdered like food the kid is exposed to the food little by little, day after day.

But doctors warn this is not something to try without supervision or at home.

“The overall goal is to see if they can outgrow their allergies, meaning they can actually develop tolerance over time,” M.D. at National Jewish Health David Fleischer said.  “We're dealing with food allergies that can be very dangerous. This is not something that can be done at home."

Early results show the strategy is working. In the past year, researchers have reported positive results for both egg and peanut allergies.

Researchers say though there has been some success, treating food allergies is still in the early stages.