Giving children an early introduction to eggs and peanuts could lower their allergy risks, suggests an analysis of nearly 150 studies involving 200,000 toddlers about a problem that has perplexed parents for years.
If children are exposed to eggs and peanuts as babies, that could prevent them from being allergic to those same foods later on in life, suggests the new study reported on by Live Science.
Researchers analyzed exactly when certain foods were introduced to children prior to their first birthday.
They found babies were 40 percent less likely to develop an egg allergy when being introduced to eggs between 4 and 6 months of age. And kids who were given peanuts between 4 and 11 months of age were found to be 70 percent less likely to develop a peanut allergy.
Dr. Robert Boyle, a pediatric allergy researcher at Imperial College London and the co-author of the new study, said the findings suggest that “introducing egg and peanut at an early age may prevent the development of egg and peanut allergy, the two most common childhood food allergies.”
According to UPI, guidelines on food introduction are different compared to years ago as parents are no longer advised to hold off on giving their babies certain foods.
However, before the current guidelines are officially revised, the authors of the new study say that more analysis needs to take place.
“Delay of introduction of these foods may be associated with some degree of potential harm, and early introduction of selected foods appears to have a well-defined benefit,” Dr. Matthew Greenhawt, an allergy specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, wrote in an editorial piece that accompanied the study.
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