Pregnant women and breast feeding mothers with a family history of atopy have been advised in a government report to avoid eating peanut products in a bid to reduce the numbers of children who develop peanut allergy.
The advice, from the government's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, is aimed at up to a third of pregnant women--some 250000--who have close family members with allergic reactions, asthma, hay fever, or eczema. Families without a history of atopy can ignore the warning.
As with other atopic diseases, such as asthma, the prevalence of peanut allergy is thought to be increasing. It is estimated that about one person in 200 is allergic to peanuts, and five to seven people die each year from the severe anaphylactic reaction provoked by peanuts. Peanut butter (once considered to be a good weaning food because it is rich in protein) and all other foods containing traces of peanuts seem to be capable of sensitising fetuses and newborn infants if there is evidence of atopic disease in the family.
John Warner, professor of child health at Southampton University and a member of the government's working group on peanut allergy, said: "Maternal consumption of peanuts and peanut products seems to be associated with earlier onset and increasing prevalence of allergy."
Evidence from aborted fetal samples shows that from the second trimester onwards fetuses are capable of producing an allergic reaction. There are several theories on how sensitisation occurs. Some research shows that antigens from the mother can cross the placenta, whereas other work suggests fetuses can swallow IgE from the amniotic fluid, causing sensitisation.
"The increase in allergy generally may be explained by better hygiene. Fetuses used to respond to parasites present in the maternal blood. Now that these have been eliminated they are reacting to other things in the blood, such as antigens," said Professor Warner.
The report advises that children from families with a history of allergy should not eat peanut products until they are aged 3 years and reiterates previous advice not to give children under the age of 5 whole peanuts because of the risk of choking.
"Whether avoiding the allergen makes a difference is an act of faith," commented Professor Warner. "On the balance of evidence and given that peanuts are not an essential part of anyone's diet it seems reasonable to recommend that during pregnancy and breast feeding, women with a family history of allergies do not have these products."
The report is available from the Department of Health, PO Box 410, Wetherby, North Yorkshire LS23 7LN (fax: 01937 845381).
Comments on this posting?
Click here to post a public comment on the Trash Talk Bulletin Board.
Click here to send a private comment to the Junkman.
Copyright © 1998 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved on original material. Material copyrighted by others is used either with permission or under a claim of "fair use." Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.
Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of Steven J. Milloy.