How are peanuts helping kids fight food allergies? Experts say early feeding could protect thousands

Food allergies in children have dropped sharply in recent years, and experts believe a simple shift in parenting advice may be behind it — introducing peanuts early in infancy. A decade after scientists first proved that feeding peanut products to babies could prevent life-threatening allergies, new research now confirms the approach is paying off.A study published in the journal Pediatrics this week found that food allergy rates among children under the age of three fell significantly after national guidelines encouraged parents to feed babies peanuts and other allergenic foods from as early as four months.

Fewer children developing food allergies

Researchers analysed records from nearly 50 paediatric practices, covering data from more than 125,000 children. They found that overall food allergies in children under three dropped by 36 per cent between 2017 and 2020 compared with 2012 to 2015.

The decline was driven largely by a 43 per cent reduction in peanut allergies, Dr David Hill, lead author of the study and paediatric allergist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was quoted as saying to New York Times.“I can actually come to you today and say there are less kids with food allergy today than there would have been if we hadn't implemented this public health effort,” Dr Hill said. The findings suggest that about 57,000 fewer children in the United States now live with food allergies because of the early-introduction guidelines.

Egg allergies have now become the most common food allergy among young children, overtaking peanuts, the study added.

Decades of caution reversed

For many years, doctors advised parents to avoid feeding infants peanuts or other allergenic foods until they were three years old. That changed in 2015 after a major British trial, the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, showed that giving peanut products to babies reduced the risk of allergy by more than 80 per cent.Following that discovery, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued new guidance in 2017 recommending early peanut introduction, later expanding it to other foods such as eggs and soy.“The latest national guidelines recommend introducing common food allergens to all infants four to six months of age,” said Dr Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a paediatrician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

“Early introduction to the nine commonly allergenic foods a couple of times a week — like a pea-sized smear of peanut butter or a small bite of scrambled eggs — can help train an infant’s immune system.”

How it helps the immune system

Dr Hill explained that the body’s response to allergens depends on how they are introduced. Exposure through damaged skin may make the immune system mistake the allergen for a threat, but exposure through digestion helps the body build tolerance.“For the past decade, studies have shown that introducing allergenic foods in infancy, as the immune system is developing, can help the body recognise food proteins as harmless,” he said.Other factors, such as higher rates of C-section deliveries, early antibiotic use, and overly sanitised environments, may have contributed to rising allergy rates in previous decades, according to Jeanna Ryan, a physician assistant at University of Utah Health.

Need for awareness

Although the results are promising, experts say not all parents or doctors have adopted the new approach. Surveys show only 29 per cent of paediatricians and 65 per cent of allergists consistently follow the 2017 guidance. Another study found that just 17 per cent of caregivers fed their infants peanuts before seven months.Parents, too, are slowly adjusting. Maryland dietician Tiffany Leon said she introduced peanuts early to her two sons after learning about the updated guidelines. “At first, my own mother was shocked at the advice to feed babies such foods before the age of 3,” she said. “But as a dietician, I practice evidence-based recommendations.”