Introduction to peanuts as an infant
Around 15 million Americans are
affected by food allergy that can be potentially life-threatening with about one
in every 13 children having a food allergy (Food Allergy Research &
Education, n.d.). Allergies are becoming more prevalent and worry for
dietitians to become more aware of how to deal with it and how to decrease the
risk of developing a severe allergy, like peanuts. Learning Early about Peanut
Allergy (LEAP) trial was the first randomized trial to study early allergen
introduction as a preventive strategy (Du Toi et al., 2015). They randomized
640 children between 4-11 months of age with severe eczema, egg allergy or both
to either consume or avoid peanut containing foods until 60 months of age. The
results showed a prevalence of peanut allergy was 35.3% in the avoidance group
and 10.6% in the consumption group. The results showed that the group who was
introduced to peanuts early in age, had a lower prevalence of developing a
peanut allergy. However, that does not mean they will not development a peanut
allergy in the future, further studies need to be done on how to continue to
not develop a peanut allergy (Du Toi et al., 2015).
The National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Disease and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma &
Immunology with 24 other organizations issued an addendum to its clinical
guidelines of the 2010 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food
Allergy in the United States (American Academy of Allergy Asthma &
Immunology [AAAAI], 2017). They now recommend that children be introduced to
peanuts early in life before 12 months of age. However, parents of children
with extremely high risk of developing allergies should consult with a health
care professional before introducing peanuts and should be excluded during
pregnancy and lactating mothers according to clinical guidelines (AAAI, 2017). High
risk babies could be those who have a family history of peanut allergies or
have a severe case of eczema, asthma, or have a severe allergy to eggs. Health
care professional will determine the appropriate approach to food allergies by
individualizing each case. Babies should never be feed a whole peanut due to
chocking hazards but adding hot water to some peanut butter to create a puree is
an adequate texture for a baby to consume. Introducing peanuts at an allergy
age can help reduce developing a peanut allergy as well as prevent one from
happening in the future by being aware of it ahead of time and avoiding it
completely.
LS
Food Allergy Research & Education. (n.d.) What is food allergy? Retrieved from https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/what-is-a-food-allergy
Food Allergy Research & Education. (n.d.) What is food allergy? Retrieved from https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/what-is-a-food-allergy
Du Toi, G, Roberts, G., Sayre, P., Bahnson, H., Radulovic,
S., Santos, A.,…& Brough, H. (2015). Randomized trial of peanut consumption
in infants at risk for peanut allergy. The
New England Journal of Medicine, 372(9), 803-813. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1414850
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. (2017).
Newly issued clinical guidelines from the NIAID recommend early peanut
introduction, not avoidance. Retrieved from https://www.aaaai.org/about-aaaai/newsroom/news-releases/early-peanut-introduction
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