Peanuts and eggs beneficial for babies
Children as young as four months may benefit from eating foods with
high rates of allergy
Feeding young children foods such as peanuts and eggs can
significantly reduce the risk of them developing dangerous allergies to
the foods later in life, new research shows. Researchers found that the
introduction of egg to children aged four to six months and the
introduction of peanuts to children aged four to 11 months was linked to
lower rates of peanut and egg allergy.
Egg and peanut sensitivities are the most common allergies in infants
and toddlers.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA), used the combined results of trials into the
introduction of allergenic food during the first year of life, and
concluded there was "moderate certainty" early introduction of egg and
peanut was associated with lower incidences of allergies to them.
The team used the term "moderate certainty" because the study is
based on various pieces of research which differ from one another in
their quality and execution. It is also difficult to set a control group
in feeding studies.
The authors concluded further work needs to be done to discover the
optimal timing for the introduction of egg and peanuts.
The researchers also said there was "high-certainty evidence" that
timing of gluten (wheat) introduction was not associated with whether
celiac disease could develop later in life.
Allergies are widespread and are rising fast in the western world.
Each year in the UK, the number of allergy sufferers increases by 5
per cent and half of all people affected are children.
According to Allergy UK, there has been a 500 per cent increase in
hospital admissions for food allergies since 1990, and the UK is one of
the top three countries in the world for the highest incident of
allergy.
Allergy UK head of clinical services Amena Warner told the
Independent: "There is now scientific evidence that healthcare providers
should recommend introducing peanut-containing products, such as smooth
peanut butter (never whole peanuts under 5 years of age) into the diet
of "high-risk" infants early on in life (between 4 - 11 months of age)
in countries where peanut allergy is prevalent (such as the UK), since
delaying the introduction of peanut may be associated with an increased
risk of developing peanut allergy.
- The Independent
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