Peanut Allergy Theory

The effects of eating peanut products as a baby to avoid the risk of allergy have been backed up by new research.

16:41 07 March 2016

A study conducted in 2015 has claimed that exposing children to small amounts of peanut snacks cut the risk of allergy by 80per cent. The findings were backed up by a new research claiming that “long-lasting” allergy protection can be sustained.

 

The research, which was carried out by King’s College London, looked at 550 children deemed prone to developing a peanut allergy. Researchers found that if a child consumed peanut snacks within the first 11 months of life, they can afford to stop eating the food at the age of five and maintain no allergy.

Lead author Prof Gideon Lack said: "[The research] clearly demonstrates that the majority of infants did in fact remain protected and that the protection was long-lasting."

"I believe that this fear of food allergy has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, because the food is excluded from the diet and, as a result, the child fails to develop tolerance.”

 

"The study found that at six years of age, there was no statistically significant increase in allergy after 12 months of avoidance, in those who had consumed peanut during the [2015] trial," the authors said.

 

Meanwhile Michael Walker, a consultant analyst and medical adviser to the government, said: "Taken together these are reassuring findings that pave the way to stem the epidemic of peanut allergy."