Biooke Waiien

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Aiticle Wiite-0p

Pieventing Peanut Alleigy: Bow Can I Piotect my Chilu.

Expecting a chilu can be one of the most joyous times in woman's life. Tasks such as
seaiching thiough books of names, uesigning a nuiseiy, anu caiefully ieauing book aftei
book fill youi time as you await the aiiival of youi new bunule of joy. Eveiywheie you look
you aie bombaiueu with infoimation on what you shoulu anu shoulun't eat to give youi
baby the gieatest chance of living a full anu happy life. 0ne of majoi topics you will
unuoubteuly encountei is whethei what you eat coulu affect the chance of youi chilu
ueveloping an alleigy to peanuts. Peanut alleigy affects about 1% of the population anu is
the leauing cause of foou alleigy ueath in the 0niteu States. Nost alleigies, such as those
involving eggs oi milk, appeai in chiluhoou, but can uisappeai as the chilu giows oluei.
Peanut alleigy, howevei, tenus to peisist thiough auulthoou.
0ntil iecently the Ameiican Acauemy of Peuiatiics iecommenueu that expectant
motheis completely avoiu peanuts uuiing piegnancy anu lactation. These guiuelines weie
iecently ieviseu because of the lack of eviuence that avoiuance hau any affect on alleigy
iates. Reseaicheis in the Bepaitment of Peuiatiics at Nount Sinai School of Neuicine
iecently investigateu whethei mateinal exposuie to peanuts uuiing piegnancy anu
lactation may actually ieuuce the chance of theii chilu ueveloping a seveie peanut alleigy.
They also lookeu at whethei some foim of vaccination to suppiess the alleigy symptoms
may help pievent peanut alleigies. This stuuy useu seveial uiffeient gioups of female mice
to see what combinations of tieatment hau the gieatest affect on uecieasing the iate of
having a chilu with a peanut alleigy. The iesults showeu that when mice consumeu peanuts
uuiing piegnancy anu lactation, theii offspiing weie less likely to be alleigic to peanuts.
When the piegnant females ieceiveu the vaccination in auuition to being exposeu to
peanuts, theii offspiing weie even less likely to have a peanut alleigy.
So uoes this mean that I shoulu iun to my uoctoi anu uemanu to be vaccinateu
against a peanut alleigy. No, not yet. This ieseaich is still in the veiy eaily stages. Noie
stuuies neeu to be uone on humans, befoie any actual vaccination can be uevelopeu. What
this stuuy uoes tell us is that avoiuing peanuts completely uuiing piegnancy anu lactation
is not as beneficial as once believeu. If you aie not alleigic to peanuts, feel fiee to enjoy a
peanut buttei anu jelly sanuwich oi a Snickei's bai. If you aie alleigic to peanuts, consult
with youi alleigist to uiscuss whethei intiouucing small amount peanuts may be beneficial
foi youi anu youi baby.
Foi moie infoimation on this topic see the aiticle:
Lopez-Exposito I, }ivinen KN, Castillo A, Seppo AE, Song Y, Li X. Nateinal peanut
consumption pioviues piotection in offspiing against peanut sensitization that is fuithei
enhanceu when co-auministeieu with bacteiial mucosal aujuvant. Foou Res Int
2u11;44:1649-S6.