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Baby Nutrition Feeding peanuts and eggs against later allergies?
Allergies can lead to major health problems throughout our lives. That is why we should try to prevent the development of allergies as early as possible. Researchers have now found out that infants who eat eggs or peanuts as early as four months of age significantly reduce the likelihood of developing these allergies.
Researchers at Imperial College London found in an investigation that infants should eat eggs and peanuts at an early age. Through this diet, the risk for corresponding allergies in those affected drops. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "JAMA".
Food allergies can take on life-threatening proportions. For this reason, we should try to prevent allergies at an early age. (Image: airborne77 / fotolia.com) Protect your children from allergies
Parents try everything possible to protect the health of their children. For example, they pay attention to a healthy diet and sufficient exercise. British experts now found out that we should give our children early eggs and peanuts. Contrary to previous assumptions, this reduces the allergy risk. Many parents will also be surprised by another natural protection mechanism. So thumb sucking protects children from allergies. So be indulgent now and then when your child has a thumb in the mouth.
Risk of allergies lowered significantly
If we give eggs to infants between the ages of four and six months, this results in a 46% lower risk of developing egg allergy compared to later introduction of this food, the researchers explain. When infants eat peanuts at the age of four to eleven months, it reduces the likelihood of peanut allergy developing by 71 percent, the researchers report.
Dietary guidelines should be revised
These results suggest that eggs and peanuts should be among the first foods in most babies. Robert Boyle from Imperial College in London. However, this is not recommended by the many doctors. For a long time, guidelines for feeding babies suggested that certain foods should not be consumed until the age of two or three years. Fortunately, this view has changed a lot in recent years. But most guidelines still do not recommend that eggs and peanuts should be fed to babies. The nutrition advice for infants may need to be changed, Dr. Boyle.
Researchers analyze the data from 146 studies
In the new study, scientists tried to find out if the introduction of certain allergenic foods influences the risk of allergies. To do so, they looked at data from 146 different studies over the past 70 years.
Many Britons suffer from peanut or egg allergy
About 5.4 percent of the population in Britain suffers from egg allergy. According to the researchers, an early egg-fed diet could avoid 24 allergy cases per 1,000 people. This resulted in the evaluation of data from five of the studies with a total of 1,915 participants. Approximately 2.5 percent of the British population, according to the latest investigation, a peanut allergy. If we gave peanuts to our children earlier, 18 allergies per 1,000 people could be prevented, the scientists explain. The researchers concluded from the data of 1,550 participants. In general, food allergies should not be underestimated. For those affected, the wrong food can be quite a deadly threat.
Gluten does not increase the risk of celiac disease
The researchers did not find enough evidence to suggest that early fish diets reduce the likelihood of allergies in general, and especially nasal allergies. In addition, the experts examined whether a protein in wheat, rye and barley increases the risk of celiac disease. This autoimmune disease causes damage to the small intestine. As a result, the intake of nutrients from the diet is disturbed, explain the scientists. However, no effects of the early diet with so-called gluten on the development of celiac disease in children could be found.
Eggs, peanuts and fishermen do not increase the likelihood of Type 1 diabetes
In addition, the researchers found no evidence that the timing of the introduction of allergenic foods such as eggs, peanuts and fish influences the likelihood of developing other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
Mothers should breastfeed exclusively during the first few months
Many of the infant nutrition guidelines consider exclusive breastfeeding ideal for the first six months, say the experts. But few women really stick to these guidelines. And while many women breastfeed for a full six months, they fed solid food as early as month four.
For many children, no specific intervention is needed
The early introduction of potentially allergenic foods is not a panacea in the prevention of allergies. Most children do not have an increased risk of developing food allergy. For this reason, according to the researchers, no specific intervention or monitoring is usually needed.
Beware of an increased risk of food allergies
The situation is different when children are at high risk for the development of food allergies. These include children with severe eczema, an existing food allergy or siblings with a peanut allergy. Generally, food allergies in the family lead to a slightly increased risk for siblings. Parents of such children should consult a physician or allergy specialist before starting to introduce new, potentially allergy-causing foods.
Clinical practice tests are now necessary
The previous study gave no indication of how many eggs or peanuts should be given to children. There is also no exact information on the frequency of egg and peanut feeding for optimal allergy prevention. Of course, a four month old child can choke on a whole peanut. For this reason, the children should receive peanuts, for example in the form of peanut butter, the scientists advise. The study's findings suggest that if peanuts and eggs were introduced early, at least some children could benefit from this diet and develop tolerance to these foods before allergy would otherwise develop. However, the results still need to be tested in clinical practice. Food allergies have the potential to trigger life-threatening reactions, the physicians add. (As)