A new study reveals that children are less likely to have a peanut allergy if they eat peanuts or peanut-containing food before they turn one, according to the Associated Press. Peanut allergies are one of the top cause of food allergy-related severe reactions and deaths. Being allergic to peanuts affects more than two percent of kids in the US. Usually, allergies are inherited from parents, and they develop throughout an individual’s life. The age of exposure may affect allergic reactions. The study was done in England. It included more than 600 children from four months to 11 months old that had possible signs of having an allergy (not necessarily a peanut allergy), but did not have evidence of one on a skin test. Half were assigned to avoid peanuts completely until they were five years old. The other half were assigned to eat peanuts or foods with peanuts in them weekly. At five years old, peanut allergies had appeared in 3 percent of children who had eaten peanuts and 17 percent appeared in children who had avoided them, according to AP.There are still questions that remain concerning how much peanut protein infants need to consume, how often, and how long, in order to avoid developing an allergy.“The main finding, that early exposure to a problem food may keep it from becoming a long-term problem, should change food guidelines quickly,” said Dr. Rebecca Guchalla, an allergy specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, taken from AP.Mariah Walsh, a sophomore studying English from Minnesota, were surprised to this recent study. Being unable to eat gluten and having a brother allergic to peanuts, she added, “Honestly, I was surprised. I didn’t think it was possible for allergies of any kind to be prevented. It would definitely be great not to worry about allergies in the future.”Food guidelines have a history of change. The American Academy of Pediatrics used to recommend avoiding giving children peanuts before the age of three. This advice was dropped in 2008 because there was no evidence in proving this was true, according to AP.“If my kids had peanut allergies, then I wouldn’t give them peanuts because I didn’t know what would happen,” said Candice Tupou, a BYU-Hawaii faculty member from Kahuku who works as an office manager at the testing center. Carina Aldrich, a senior majoring in political science from Laie, allergic to latex, said in response to the study, “I’m not really surprised if kids are exposed to things, they are more likely to develop immunity to them.” ATTENTION: All the babies who participated in the study were tested to make sure they weren’t already allergic to peanuts beforehand. Small children can also choke on whole peanuts, so smooth peanut butter or other peanut-based foods are safer to use. Parents of babies thought to be at risk for an allergy should not try this on their own, advised AP.Uploaded March 5, 2015
Writer: Rachel Reed
