Why babies ‘should be given peanuts to beat allergy risk’
FEEDING peanuts to babies may reduce their chance of becoming allergic as they get older, experts have found.
British 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 per cent 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.
The research, by King’s College London and Southampton University, contrasts sharply with government advice against giving peanut products to children with a family history of nut allergy until they are at least three years old.
However, the scientists stressed that parents with an at-risk child should check with an expert before giving them peanuts.
The number of UK children allergic to peanuts has doubled in the past decade. The allergy now affects one in 50 schoolchildren. It 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.
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.
Participants were fed peanuts before they were 11 months old and then stopped for 12 months when they turned five. They were carefully monitored, with help at hand should they fall ill.
Scientists found that the yearlong abstinence from peanuts did not increase the rate of allergies.
Professor Graham Roberts, co- author of the research, published last night 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.’
But Food Standards Agency chief scientific adviser Guy Poppy said: ‘While this study will be of interest to parents, we would advise them to continue to follow existing government infant feeding advice. It should also be emphasised that this research was carried out under guidance of allergy professionals.’
Dr George Du Toit, consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, said: ‘We need more research to better understand t he mechanisms behind the development and prevention of allergic responses to peanut, and how this might translate to other food allergies.’
Allergy expert Professor Barry Kay, of Imperial College London, said: ‘The results point the way to completely fresh thinking on the mechanisms of tolerance to allergenic foods in “at risk” infants and have the potential to provide future advice for prevention. They rank among the most important food allergy studies ever published.’
‘Reconsider advice to parents’