Weaning babies off of peanuts dramatically reduces their chances of developing a serious allergy, research shows.
The most conclusive evidence so far is that a UK study found that giving peanuts to children as young as four months likely has a protective effect.
Researchers at Kings College London found that regular consumption of peanuts from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy by 71 percent.
This remained true years later, as teenagers, when they ate or avoided peanuts at will, demonstrating their long-lasting protection.
Researchers said the “simple intervention” could prevent thousands of young people from developing the potentially fatal condition.
Researchers at Kings College London found that regular consumption of peanuts from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy by 71 percent.
Peanut allergies are increasing in Western countries and around two per cent of children in the UK, North America, Australia and Western Europe are affected.
It develops early in life, rarely outgrows it, and there is no cure, often making parents fearful of introducing it into the diet.
In its most dangerous form, it can cause anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.
The researchers wanted to build on previous results from the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) clinical trial, in which they found that early introduction reduced the risk of peanut allergy at age five by 81 percent.
They followed the same two groups of children aged six to 12 or older: half ate peanuts regularly since childhood and the other group avoided them.
During that time, children could choose to eat peanuts as much and as often as they wanted.
About 15.4 percent of those in the early childhood peanut avoidance group had a peanut allergy compared to just 4.4 percent of those who stopped consuming peanuts, or 71 percent more.
Lead researcher Professor Gideon Lack of King’s College London said: “Decades of advice to avoid peanuts has made parents fearful of introducing them at a young age.”
“The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanuts in childhood induces long-term tolerance and protects children from allergies well into adolescence.
“This simple intervention will make a noticeable difference for future generations and will cause peanut allergies to plummet.”
He added: “Early consumption of peanuts will prevent more than 100,000 new cases of peanut allergy each year worldwide.”
The scientists tested peanut tolerance by gradually increasing the amount of peanuts they were given to determine if they could safely consume at least 5 grams, the equivalent of more than 20 peanuts.
Participants were also asked to complete surveys about their recent peanut consumption patterns.
This was verified by measurements of peanuts in participants’ bed dust, a technique used successfully in the initial LEAP trial.
They found that although those in the original peanut-eating group ate more peanuts during childhood overall, the frequency and amount consumed varied widely and included periods when they did not eat peanuts.
This shows that the protective effect of early peanut consumption lasts without the need to constantly eat peanut products, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers hope this will put an end to years of conflicting advice. Mothers and fathers used to be told not to give peanuts to children with a family history of peanut allergies until they were at least three years old, and to everyone else until they were at least one year old.
That guidance was scrapped in 2009, when they were told to avoid peanuts until their babies were at least six months old, regardless of allergies.
Peanut allergies are increasing in Western countries and around two per cent of children in the UK, North America, Australia and Western Europe are affected.
In the UK, the NHS still recommends that babies are given nuts and peanuts from around six months, as long as they are crushed, ground or in soft butter form.
Professor George Du Toit, co-principal investigator at King’s, said research suggests this could be reduced.
He said: ‘This is a safe and highly effective intervention that can be implemented from 4 months of age.
“The baby needs to be developmentally ready to begin weaning and peanuts should be introduced as a smooth pureed paste or in the form of peanut buns.”
The research was sponsored and co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US National Institutes of Health, whose guidelines urge parents to give diluted peanut butter to babies up to four months old.
