Can feeding your baby peanut butter reduce future risk of food allergies?
Studies suggest that early introduction of foods like peanut and egg may decrease a child’s risk of developing allergies to these foods.
Why do food allergies occur?
When the body’s immune system is confused about certain substances in the body, even if they are harmless proteins found in certain foods, it can mistakenly trigger an automatic “attack” response, which flares up in conditions such as hives, itchy skin, nausea, eczema, breathing difficulties, and even anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.
Allergic reactions to dairy, gluten, fish, shellfish, and peanuts are generally considered to be quite common, although it is possible for almost anything and everything to trigger an allergy – some people can even be severely sensitive to sunlight.
Exposure to allergens early as a child
Many recent studies have suggested that early childhood exposure to certain foods commonly associated with allergies may significantly reduce the risk of developing sensitivities to these foods.
After conducting a various trials, a team from the Imperial College London in the UK managed to identify “moderate-intensity” evidence that introducing egg to the diet of infants between 4 to 6 months old can potentially lower the risk of egg allergy by up to 40%, and introducing peanuts to the diet of those between 4 – 11 months can lower the risk of peanut allergy by 70%.
The numbers seem promising, however, this might only be the case for just peanut and egg allergies – there appears to be no correlation (or very little correlation) regarding the age in which gluten or fish is introduced to the diet, and a resulting decrease in the risk of food allergies developing.
Of course, further research will still have to be conducted before a solid correlation is founded, but it seems plausible that introducing egg and smooth peanut butter (never whole peanuts – they pose a choking hazard) to diets of infants may help. Just a little food for thought!
Angela Goh
Photos: Getty Images
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