Study bolsters notion that exposing babies to peanut products can reduce allergies

Feeding peanuts to babies can reduce their risk of developing allergies, a study published this week affirmed.

While nuts themselves remain choking hazards, giving foods made with nuts to babies may prevent them from developing nut allergies, according to a study published Monday in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Those with a severe allergy can experience life-threatening reactions to exposure without treatment, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Views on when it’s safe for children to be exposed to peanut products have shifted completely since 2015, when the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy study was published. In 2017, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases changed its guidance based on that study.

The research published Monday crunched medical data for babies born before 2015, those born between 2015 and 2017, and those born since 2017, comparing the incidence of peanut allergies.

The study found a 27% decline in peanut allergies after the changes.

The new study affirms that it’s possible to reduce the number of people with allergies by exposing them to foods they may become allergic to, according to Dr. Russell Traister, an allergy and immunology physician with Allegheny Health Network.

It also shows the need to spread the word among pediatricians to advise their patients to follow the latest scientific recommendations, Traister said.

It’s important because once allergies take hold and a child becomes an adult, the chances they’ll “grow out” of the allergy lessen, he said.

“Once you’re an adult with a peanut allergy, it’s hard to undo,” Traister said.

As a father, Dr. Jason Ng said he knows about the dangers of a peanut allergy, as the reaction can be deadly.

Ng, an endocrinologist at UPMC, is a father of four sons, one of whom is allergic to peanuts.

While the guidance wasn’t changed in time to make a difference for his family, Ng was encouraged by its results and what they mean for all who have food allergies.

Research in the field is happening quickly and it’s been good news, Ng said.

Experts say more research is needed to verify the reason for the reduction in peanut allergies. Other factors, like better treatment for eczema — a skin condition common among people with allergies — could play a role, according to a New York Times report.

Earlier this year, a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases study showed that children who can tolerate exposure to half a peanut can increase their resistance to an allergic reaction by eating small servings of peanut butter, gradually increasing the amount.

“You can seriously reduce the number of kids with allergies,” he said.

There’s also the hope that doctors can find ways to better manage and reduce the severity of reactions, he said.

“That would be a win too,” Ng said. “It’s all pretty positive.”