That’s nuts! Exposure to snack as a baby cuts allergy risk

FEEDING peanuts to babies may reduce their chance of becoming allergic as they get older, experts have found.

Scientists tracked 550 children considered at risk of developing a peanut allergy. They found that if the babies were fed peanut butter or peanut snacks in their first year, they were 74% less likely to have developed a peanut allergy by the age of six.

Even if the children subsequently stopped eating peanuts, they were still protected against becoming allergic to them.

However, researchers, from King’s College London and Southampton University, stressed that parents with an at-risk child should check with an expert before giving them peanuts.

The children in the study were considered to be at risk of peanut allergy if their parents had also been allergic, if they had eczema or if they were allergic to eggs.

The allergy to peanuts develops early in life, is rarely outgrown and there is currently no cure. At its most dangerous it triggers anaphylactic shock, which can in some cases be fatal.

Professor Graham Roberts, coauthor of the research, published in the New England Journal Of Medicine, said: ‘These studies have given us interesting results.

‘For many years, guidelines and paediatricians have recommended that infants avoid peanut. However, this study showed that early, sustained consumption of peanut is safe and results in a substantial and significant reduction in the development of peanut allergy. It is now time for us to reconsider the advice we are giving parents.’