Glass
23rd February 2015, 07:29 PM
So this is not news to me. This is also not new knowledge. My family knew this 50 years ago and it was recommended advice from Doctors of the time. However, According to the article this situation "Contravenes previous guidelines"
Eating peanuts early could prevent allergy, study shows
Miami: A study has found that, contrary to previous advice, feeding foods containing peanuts to babies before 11 months of age may help prevent allergies, echoing some of the findings of Australian researchers.
The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine are based on a British study of 640 children, aged four months to 11 months, who were considered at high risk of becoming allergic to peanuts either because of a pre-existing egg allergy or eczema.
An editorial published in the journal along with the study called the results "so compelling" and the rise of peanut allergies "so alarming" that guidelines for feeding infants at risk of peanut allergies should be revised soon.
The study "clearly indicates that the early introduction of peanut dramatically decreases the risk of development of peanut allergy," said the editorial, by Rebecca Gruchalla of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre and Hugh Sampson of the Icahn School of Medicine, at Mount Sinai, in New York. It also "makes it clear that we can do something now to reverse the increasing prevalence of peanut allergy".
In the study, researchers at Evelina London Children's Hospital randomly assigned the 640 children into two groups. Some were fed foods containing pureed peanuts and others were told to avoid peanuts until they turned five.
The children were given another allergy test when they turned five. Only 1.9 per cent of those who were fed peanuts were allergic to them, compared with 13.7 per cent of the children in the group that avoided peanuts.
Gideon Lack, a professor of paediatric allergy at King's College London and the leader of the study, said the common practice of withholding peanuts from babies "could have been in part responsible for the rise in peanut allergies we have seen."
The final results did not include 13 children who showed signs of peanut allergy early in the study. The children involved in the research were not fed whole peanuts, which can be a choking hazard.
"This is an important clinical development and contravenes previous guidelines," said Dr Lack.
In January, Australian researchers said they had found a possible cure for peanut allergy.
Researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, in Melbourne, gave about 30 allergic children increasing daily doses of peanut protein and a probiotic over an 18-month period. At the end of the trial, 80 per cent of the children could eat peanuts without any adverse reaction.
"These findings provide the first vital step towards developing a cure for peanut allergy and possibly other food allergies," said lead researcher Mimi Tang.
Dr Lack urged parents of babies and young children with eczema or egg allergies to consult with their paediatrician about the possibility of trying to introduce peanuts into their children's diet.
more on the story @ the Age (http://www.theage.com.au/national/health/eating-peanuts-early-could-prevent-allergy-study-shows-20150224-13n2ku.html)
Eating peanuts early could prevent allergy, study shows
Miami: A study has found that, contrary to previous advice, feeding foods containing peanuts to babies before 11 months of age may help prevent allergies, echoing some of the findings of Australian researchers.
The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine are based on a British study of 640 children, aged four months to 11 months, who were considered at high risk of becoming allergic to peanuts either because of a pre-existing egg allergy or eczema.
An editorial published in the journal along with the study called the results "so compelling" and the rise of peanut allergies "so alarming" that guidelines for feeding infants at risk of peanut allergies should be revised soon.
The study "clearly indicates that the early introduction of peanut dramatically decreases the risk of development of peanut allergy," said the editorial, by Rebecca Gruchalla of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre and Hugh Sampson of the Icahn School of Medicine, at Mount Sinai, in New York. It also "makes it clear that we can do something now to reverse the increasing prevalence of peanut allergy".
In the study, researchers at Evelina London Children's Hospital randomly assigned the 640 children into two groups. Some were fed foods containing pureed peanuts and others were told to avoid peanuts until they turned five.
The children were given another allergy test when they turned five. Only 1.9 per cent of those who were fed peanuts were allergic to them, compared with 13.7 per cent of the children in the group that avoided peanuts.
Gideon Lack, a professor of paediatric allergy at King's College London and the leader of the study, said the common practice of withholding peanuts from babies "could have been in part responsible for the rise in peanut allergies we have seen."
The final results did not include 13 children who showed signs of peanut allergy early in the study. The children involved in the research were not fed whole peanuts, which can be a choking hazard.
"This is an important clinical development and contravenes previous guidelines," said Dr Lack.
In January, Australian researchers said they had found a possible cure for peanut allergy.
Researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, in Melbourne, gave about 30 allergic children increasing daily doses of peanut protein and a probiotic over an 18-month period. At the end of the trial, 80 per cent of the children could eat peanuts without any adverse reaction.
"These findings provide the first vital step towards developing a cure for peanut allergy and possibly other food allergies," said lead researcher Mimi Tang.
Dr Lack urged parents of babies and young children with eczema or egg allergies to consult with their paediatrician about the possibility of trying to introduce peanuts into their children's diet.
more on the story @ the Age (http://www.theage.com.au/national/health/eating-peanuts-early-could-prevent-allergy-study-shows-20150224-13n2ku.html)