Peanuts in baby’s diet can prevent scary allergy

WASHINGTON, USA (AP) — New parents, get ready to feed your babies peanut-containing foods — starting young lowers their chances of becoming allergic.

The National Institutes of Health issued new guidelines saying most babies should regularly eat those foods starting around six months of age, some as early as four months. It’s a major shift in dietary advice for a country fearful of one of the most dangerous food allergies.

“We’re on the cusp of hopefully being able to prevent a large number of cases of peanut allergy,” said Dr Matthew Greenhawt of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a member of the NIH-appointed panel that wrote the guidelines.

The recommendations are based on landmark research that found early exposure is far more likely to protect babies from developing peanut allergies than to harm them. The guidelines spell out exactly how to introduce infants to age-appropriate peanut products depending on whether they’re at high, moderate or low risk of becoming allergic as they grow.

Babies at high risk — because they have a severe form of the skin rash eczema or egg allergies — need a check-up before any peanut exposure, and might get their first taste in the doctor’s office.

For other tots, most parents can start adding peanut-containing foods to the diet much like they already introduced oatmeal or mushed peas.

No, babies don’t get whole peanuts or a big glob of peanut butter — those are choking hazards. Instead, the guidelines include options like watered-down peanut butter or easy-to-gum peanut-flavored “puff” snacks.

“It’s an important step forward,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which appointed experts to turn the research findings into user-friendly guidelines. “When you do desensitise them from an early age, you have a very positive effect.”

Peanut allergy is a growing problem, affecting about two per cent of US children who must avoid the wide array of peanut-containing foods or risk severe, even life-threatening, reactions.

For years, paediatricians advised avoiding peanuts until age three for children thought to be at risk. But the delay didn’t help, and that recommendation was dropped in 2008, although parent wariness of peanuts persists.

“It’s old news, wrong old news, to wait,” said Dr Scott Sicherer, who represented the American Academy of Pediatrics on the guidelines panel.

The guidelines, published in several medical journals, make that clear, urging parents and doctors to proactively introduce peanut-based foods early.

“Just because your uncle, aunt and sibling have an allergy, that’s even more reason to give your baby the food now,” even if they’re already older than six months, added Sicherer, a paediatric allergist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

The guidelines recommend:

•All babies should try other solid foods before peanut-containing ones, to be sure they’re developmentally ready.

•High-risk babies should have peanut-containing foods introduced at age four to six months after a check-up to tell if they should have the first taste in the doctor’s office, or if it’s OK to try at home with a parent watching for any reactions.

• Moderate-risk babies have milder eczema, typically treated with over-the-counter creams. They should start peanut-based foods around six months, at home.

• Most babies are low-risk, and parents can introduce peanut-based foods along with other solids, usually around six months.

• Building tolerance requires making peanut-based foods part of the regular diet, about three times a week.