New Study Suggest Food Allergy Triggers Introduced Early

An analysis in the United States emphasized the importance of early introduction of foods, especially those that often cause allergies such as eggs and peanuts. If the baby feel these foods early, they will be spared from allergies later in life.

The research results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Time official page mentions, this is new thinking. In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be prevented from foods that cause allergies (allergenic food) until the age of one year or more.

This warning is increasingly recommended for families with a history of allergies. However, in the next decade, it turns out the prevalence of food allergies in the United States have increased two-fold.

Author revise these studies and show new evidence that states the introduction of food since the beginning will prevent allergies. The author examines 146 related studies in the final analysis and found a lot of new evidence.

One of the discoveries mentioned, the introduction of peanuts at 4-11 months of age is associated with decreased risk of peanut allergy. Giving eggs at the age of 4-6 months showed the same relationship. It also occurs in fish consumption, but the evidence is still not strong enough.

Based on the available evidence, the introduction of food from an early age had no effect on autoimmune diseases. Eating gluten early on precisely associated with the risk of celiac disease.

Beyond that, there is still a question for researchers. They are still looking for the cause of the relationship. "It is not clear whether the introduction of certain allergenic foods which provide immunological protection, or enhancement of the diversity that is included in the diet," wrote allergy and immunology specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado, Matthew Greenhawt.

Further research is needed to see how much the amount of allergens, the best time to introduce the food, and the cause of the relationship.

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