Are allergies linked to the change in cows’ diet?

YOUR article on the latest theory about feeding infants peanuts and eggs to combat allergies reminds me of how confusing life must be for new parents, for while fashions in child rearing and feeding have changed, parents have to choose among competing theories (September 24).

When my eldest child was born over 50 years ago it was recommended that solid foods supplement breast milk or formula when infants reached a certain weight, usually between four and five months. The first recommended solid was a teaspoon of egg yolk, which I dutifully gave him. The amount gradually increased but egg white followed only some time later.

All my children grew up, as their father and I had done, eating eggs and drinking loads of milk (full cream, nogal). The calcium has stood our bones in good stead, and none of us has ever had food allergies. Interestingly, 50 years ago it was also possible to substitute formula with cow’s milk from an early age if Nutrine, produced by food company Hinds Brothers,was added, as it rendered milk digestible to infants.

I often wonder if the rise in food allergies is connected to the changing diet of cows, or various additives to manufactured, as opposed to home baked, bread.

What I do fail to understand is why the government has ignored calls to ban the use of potentially dangerous (to human health) bovine growth hormones, which are banned in Europe.