Parents have long shunned giving peanuts to children

allergic reactions infants – According to a recent study, children who are fed peanut products as babies and toddlers have a significantly lower chance of developing a peanut allergy as teenagers.

A study co-sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health found that children who ate peanut products from birth until age five had a 71% lower risk of developing a peanut allergy by the time they were thirteen.

The research expands on a 2015 study that found infants who were fed at least 6 grammes of peanut protein per week had a significantly lower risk of developing peanut allergies than infants who were fed nothing but peanut products. The new study was published on Tuesday in the medical journal NEJM Evidence.

The director of NIAID, Jeanne Marrazzo, stated that the study “turns our traditional thinking about food allergy on its head.”

“All of our intervention has historically been based on avoidance: if your child shows any indications of a possible allergy, don’t let them near peanuts,” Marrazzo stated.

However, she claimed that the new study is a “game changer” since it shows that if kids eat peanut products from 4 to 6 months of age through age 5, they can develop immunity against peanut allergy.

According to her, tens of thousands of young children’s cases of peanut allergy could be avoided by consuming peanut products at such an early age.

In the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy study, over 600 infants at high risk were enrolled. Among those kids, half ate peanut products from birth to age five. The other half shunned goods containing peanuts. Published in 2015, the study found that consuming peanut products at a young age decreased the likelihood of developing a peanut allergy by 81%.

The aim of the current study was to determine whether children who opted to consume peanut products in any amount would continue to benefit from this early protection into adolescence. When early research revealed that a child was allergic, they were advised to stay away from peanuts.

More than 500 kids who were enrolled in the initial study were examined by the research team; 255 of them ate peanuts, and 253 didn’t.

Kids were watched while they consumed at least 5 grammes of peanut products, which is more than 20 peanuts. Researchers found that compared to the group that avoided peanuts, the group that regularly ate peanuts in their early years had a 71% lower chance of developing a peanut allergy in adolescence.

The quantity and frequency of peanut consumption in both groups, according to the researchers, varied greatly. Put another way, even if they did not continue to eat peanuts regularly into early adolescence, children who ate them during their formative years would still be protected.

allergic reaction to food skin rash – Food Allergy Research & Education is a nonprofit organisation led by Sung Poblete, whose mission is to enhance the health and quality of life for people with food allergies.

The new study, according to Poblete, is “hugely important” because it demonstrates the potential of food as a preventive medicine.

“We say eat early, eat often, and that’s exactly what this research demonstrates,” Poblete stated.

But according to Poblete, parents have been hesitant to include peanuts in their kids’ diets, possibly as a result of contradictory advice over the years.

The American Academy of Paediatrics advised against consuming peanuts until a child is three years old in 2000. The group withdrew its recommendation to introduce peanuts to children before the age of three in 2008.

The paediatricians’ group stated in a 2019 update that there is “no evidence” that avoiding foods like fish, eggs, and peanuts for longer than four to six months can prevent illness. The revised guidelines stated, “There is now evidence that peanut allergy may be prevented by early introduction of peanuts.”

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