New research highlights a crucial time window very early on in life, during which the introduction of eggs and peanut butter into the diets of babies significantly reduces the chances of them becoming allergic to these foods later on.
The findings run counter to previous advice given to parents to avoid giving these foods to their kids until they’re at least a year old over concerns that they might trigger allergic reactions.
Here, researchers led by a team from the University of Western Australia compared the experiences of two groups of children in Australia: 506 whose parents got no specific feeding advice, and 566 whose parents were advised to start adding eggs and peanut butter to the diets of the infants at around six months.
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“For the babies in group two – whose caregivers followed the updated guidelines and introduced peanut butter and egg around six months of age – egg allergy reduced from 12 percent to 3 percent, and peanut allergy reduced from around 6 percent to 1 percent,” says Summer Walker, a health scientist at the University of Western Australia.
In other words, earlier introduction of these foods at the six-month mark made a notable difference to the number of kids who went on to develop allergies by 12 months of age. Cow’s milk was also included, though here the difference was smaller.
The advice itself isn’t new, and the six-month milestone has in fact now been added to the official Infant Feeding and Allergy Prevention Guidelines proposed by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). Testing the guidelines in real population groups confirms the recommendations are safe and effective.
The parents of the second group of 566 were provided with hard copies of the ASCIA guidelines, and the researchers are keen to raise awareness of the latest expert advice on how best to reduce allergy risk.
“By increasing the distribution of guidelines and encouraging health professionals to share the information, we can considerably reduce the incidence of food allergies in the community,” says Walker.
Understanding why allergies develop is a complex challenge, and it’s important to note that these infants were only tested for allergies up to 12 months – and that allergies to peanut butter and eggs weren’t completely eradicated.
Nonetheless, amid signs that food allergies in children have been on the rise in spite of instructions to avoid specific food items, a review of the relationship between diet and immune responses is critical.
This is just one part of the picture, but it’s strong evidence that the latest guidelines do make a difference – even in relation to a higher level of genetic risk. All the babies involved in the research had a close relative with an allergy to one of these foods, and allergies often run in families.
“Some parents are still confused about when to introduce allergens – especially those families with a history of allergies,” says research dietitian Debbie Palmer, from the University of Western Australia.
The research has been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
