Giving babies eggs and nut products early may avert allergies

These findings suggest that for most babies, eggs andpeanuts should be among their first foods, said seniorstudyauthor Dr. Robert Boyle, a pediatric allergy researcher atImperial College London.

Feeding guidelines have moved away from telling parents toavoid introducing some foods that can cause allergies until kidsare 2 or 3 years old, but most recommendations still stop shortof urging parents to give babies eggs and peanuts early in life.

• Food allergies in infants may be prevented with early introduction
• Peanuts for babies? Studies back allergy-preventing strategy

To see how the timing of babies' introduction to certainallergenic foods influences their risk of allergies, Boyle andcolleagues reviewed data from 146 studies published over thepast 70 years.

When 5.4 per cent of the population has egg allergies, earlyintroduction could avoid 24 cases for every 1,000 people, areview of data from five of those studies with 1,915participants found.

For peanuts, when about 2.5 per cent of the population hasallergies, early introduction could avoid 18 cases for every1,000 people, a review of data 1,550 participants found.

They also looked at whether giving babies gluten, a proteinin wheat, rye and barley, early might increase the risk ofceliac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the smallintestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients fromfood.

In addition, researchers found no evidence that the timingof introduction of allergenic foods like eggs, peanuts and fishinfluenced the odds of developing other autoimmune disorderssuch as Type 1 diabetes.

One limitation of the analysis is that individual studieshad different designs and populations, making it hard to draw broad conclusions that could apply to all children, the authorsnote in JAMA.

No panacea

Early introduction of potentially allergenic foods may notbe a panacea in preventing allergies, Dr. Matthew Greenhawt, aresearcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine inAurora writes in an accompanying editorial.

Consult a doctor for at-risk kids

"Most children are not at risk for developing food allergyand thus, they wouldn't need any specific intervention orsupervision," Greenhawt said.

Parents of at-risk kids should consult a doctor or allergyspecialist before introducing foods that can trigger an allergicreaction, Greenhawt added.

• Choking risk for baby-led weaning no different than spoon-feeding

And of course, a 4-month-old can choke on whole peanuts, andshould get this food in peanut butter form.

"I do think that the findings suggest a need to considerchanges to clinical practice," Hong said by email. "Foodallergies have the potential to result in life-threateningreactions."