Introducing Peanut to Babies May Help Prevent Allergies, Study Shows

It may be scary to give your baby peanut products, but this study shows it can reduce their risk of developing an allergy.

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Melissa Davis didn’t fully understand the severity of food allergies until she discovered her then 1-year-old daughter was extremely allergic to peanuts.

“I never thought I’d be the mom who has to advocate for my child’s dietary needs, but here we are,” the 36-year-old mother of three from New York says. “Now, I find that I’m constantly educating myself, my daughter, and others about what to avoid, symptoms to watch out for, and how to medically treat her in the event of an accidental consumption.”

Recently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a new study that found introducing peanut products in infancy can prevent the development of a possible peanut allergy into adolescence.

For Davis, the study represents hope.

“It’s interesting because with my first, the guidelines were no peanuts until around 6 months. Now, the guidelines have changed,” she explains. “At this point, I appreciate any study that will help us understand the allergy better and how to hopefully avoid food allergies altogether for our future generations.”

Breaking Down the New Study About Peanut Allergies

According to the NIH study, when a child is fed peanut products at least three times a week from infancy to 5 years of age, the chance they’ll develop a peanut allergy decreases by 71%.

“If widely implemented, this safe, simple strategy could prevent tens of thousands of cases of peanut allergy among the 3.6 million children born in the United States each year,” Jeanne Marazzo, MD, MPH, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) says in a press release.

In 2015, the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study as it's known also revealed that consuming peanut products from infancy to age 5 prevented the development of a peanut allergy in the future. The latest NIH study fills in the gaps by revealing that if a child consumed peanut products on a regular basis at a young age, the “protected effect of early peanut consumption” remained “consistently throughout childhood and early adolescence.”

In this study, researchers enrolled nearly 80% of the original LEAP participants. These children had an average age of 13. Researchers found that 15.4% of those from the early childhood peanut-avoidance group and 4.4% of the peanut consumption group had a peanut allergy at age 12 or older. The researchers also found that eating peanut products early lasted even without having to continually eat them throughout their childhood and adolescence.

Drew Bird, MD, the director of the Food Allergy Center at Children’s Health and a professor of pediatrics and internal medicine in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says the study shows a better understanding of how peanut allergies can be prevented.

“Even after children stopped eating peanut products … they maintained protection,” Dr. Bird adds. “The reason that’s important is because for the kids who didn’t have peanuts consistently in their diet (and) who did develop a peanut allergy didn’t have a remission—they maintained the disease … Once the allergy is established, it’s there to stay."

“The study shows that preventing allergy has a long-term benefit independent of ongoing exposure for the rest of your life,” Dr. Bird continues.

What Causes a Peanut Allergy?

So what can cause a child to have a food allergy? Stanislaw Gabryszewski, MD, PhD, a clinical fellow in Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia says it's very complex and involves both genetics and the environment.

“For example, a child with a sibling who has allergies may also develop allergies, but not necessarily,” Dr. Gabryszewski explains. “Certainly, incompletely understood early-life environmental factors—such as excessive hygiene measures or excessive antibiotic courses that affect the microflora in the gut—may tip the balance toward allergy, but we’re still in the process of learning more about why allergies occur.”

Dr. Bird stresses there is no conclusive evidence the mother's diet has any significant influence on whether a child will develop a peanut allergy. He also says there isn't enough evidence to determine whether a nursing parent who eats peanuts can transfer protection to their baby from their milk.

“We’re also seeing that kids who don't have any risk factors develop peanut allergies,” he adds.

Kevin S., a 46-year-old father of two living in Kentucky, gave his 5-year-old a baby-safe peanut butter product shortly after his first birthday, sending him into anaphylactic shock. His second child is so far not allergic.

“His mom and I tried to do everything right, from introducing peanuts and honey later (as recommended), but became crestfallen when his allergy surfaced,” he explains. “If we knew then what we know now … We are also interested in the UCLA study that is using mRNA to possibly prevent peanut and tree allergies in mice. I would be all over that in the future if they needed volunteers.”

What Parents Need to Know About Introducing Peanuts

Jonathan Williams, DO, a board-certified pediatrician and father of five based in Utah, says it can feel “scary to give peanut products to babies,” but assures parents it is safe to introduce baby-safe peanut products early in age and often.

“We have multiple studies showing that early exposure to food allergens is your best bet at reducing the risk of developing a food allergy in the future,” Dr. Williams explains. “Years ago, we were telling parents to avoid typical allergy foods until their baby was at least 1 year of age, and this came from the fear of just how bad food allergies can be.”

NIAID offers guidelines for preventing peanut allergies for parents. But parents should always talk with their children's doctor about introducing peanut products into their baby's diet.

Amanda Krise, a 38-year-old mother of two living in Wisconsin, hopes this study is one step toward better understanding allergies in general.

“I’m also hopeful people will see why peanut allergies are so prevalent now,” Krise, whose 7-year-old daughter has a severe peanut allergy, says. “I wish that other people—especially food producers—understood how difficult it is to find specific foods that your child can eat… I wish other parents would try to give us grace."

“We didn’t choose for our child to have a food allergy,” she adds. “Try to put yourself in our shoes.” 

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