Breastfeeding, But Not Delayed Introduction of Allergenic Foods May Delay or Prevent Allergies in Children

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Asthma , Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on January 9, 2008

Contrary to the conclusions of a previous study I referred to a few months ago, a new report says that breastfeeding for at least four months DOES delay and prevent food allergies, asthma, eczema, and other atopic diseases in high-risk children. The report comprises a new policy statement from the american academy of pediatrics and is published in the January 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

That may not sound new to some of you, particularly those who are breastfeeding advocates, but what I found really interesting is this:

The report also suggests there is insufficient evidence to support delaying the introduction of allergy related foods from the diets of high risk children. And there is isufficient evidence to support pregnant or nursing mothers restricting their diets in order to prevent their high risk child from getting an atopic disease.

This is against previous recommendations that parents of high-risk kids hold off giving cow's milk until one year old, and other foods such as fish and peanuts until after it was three years old. It seems that if a child will develop allergies, there's not much you can do dietary-wise to prevent it, aside from breastfeeding for the first four months, or using hydrolyzed formulas.

Source: Medical News Today