nut lovers rejoice

Rant: When will we start learning not to listen to doctors and just live
and parent like everything is normal?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472339?mpid=26753


.... The researchers concluded that partial food avoidance strategies in the
third trimester and during breastfeeding were not effective in preventing
sensitization to food among these high-risk children. On the contrary, the
strategies seemed to worsen the outcome, for unknown reasons.

"We have concerns that these avoidances may enhance sensitization to foods
in high-risk children," Dr. Appelt concluded. ...

Dagny wrote:

... The researchers concluded that partial food avoidance strategies in the
third trimester and during breastfeeding were not effective in preventing
sensitization to food among these high-risk children. On the contrary, the
strategies seemed to worsen the outcome, for unknown reasons.

Please note the words "partial...avoidance," which is very very
different from complete avoidance. That said, I see absolutely no
benefit in avoiding anything that doesn't bother your baby during bf,
with the possible exception of peanuts.

Phoebe

I am not pregnant, not even TTC yet (scheduled to start this project in
January 2005!). But are peanuts something that you are supposed to avoid
during this time, to avoid giving your child allergies? Nuts are mostly such
healthy things, very helpful in avoiding heart disease ...I'd hate to have a
child with a peanut allergy. Where would this 5'11 woman be today without
peanut butter?

KD


"Dagny" wrote in message
link.net...
Rant: When will we start learning not to listen to doctors and just live
and parent like everything is normal?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472339?mpid=26753


... The researchers concluded that partial food avoidance strategies in
the
third trimester and during breastfeeding were not effective in preventing
sensitization to food among these high-risk children. On the contrary, the
strategies seemed to worsen the outcome, for unknown reasons.

"We have concerns that these avoidances may enhance sensitization to foods
in high-risk children," Dr. Appelt concluded. ...

"Dagny" wrote in message
link.net...
Rant: When will we start learning not to listen to doctors and just live
and parent like everything is normal?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472339?mpid=26753


... The researchers concluded that partial food avoidance strategies in
the
third trimester and during breastfeeding were not effective in preventing
sensitization to food among these high-risk children. On the contrary, the
strategies seemed to worsen the outcome, for unknown reasons.

"We have concerns that these avoidances may enhance sensitization to foods
in high-risk children," Dr. Appelt concluded. ...
I was told by my midwife to eat mixed nuts towards the end of pregnancy if I
have the same lack of appetite that I had with dd. Right now I dont feel at
risk for that right now though.. man I can not believe I am hungry again...
grrr.

Tori

"KD" wrote in message
...
I am not pregnant, not even TTC yet (scheduled to start this project in
January 2005!). But are peanuts something that you are supposed to avoid
during this time, to avoid giving your child allergies? Nuts are mostly
such
healthy things, very helpful in avoiding heart disease ...I'd hate to have
a
child with a peanut allergy. Where would this 5'11 woman be today without
peanut butter?

KD

I was told during my first pregnancy (1997-1998) to eat peanut butter for
the protein. That child has no alleriges. I also ate it during my 2nd
(1999) and 3rd (2001) pregnancies. Child #2 is allergic to red dyes in food
and drinks. Have not been in the mood for it with this pregnancy but I
would eat it if I was.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04

Both my husband and I have life threatening nut allergies, so the idea
of me eating them in pregnancy or while nursing is academic. However,
before we started solids with our oldest, we consulted with a very
well respected pediatric allergist, whose advice was for anyone with a
family history of severe allergy to anything, peanuts in particular
should be avoided, and mom should keep them out of her diet in
pregnancy and while nursing, and keep them out of the child's diet
until age 3 bare minimum, and age 5 preferably.

They do know that intact nut proteins can cross the placental barrier
and also end up in breastmilk.

Both hubbie and I had extremely severe food allergies as kids, and the
nut thing has carried forward into our adult lives, since nut
allergies tend not to be outgrown. It was a HUGE pain in the neck for
our parents (never mind terrifying), and we had no desire to repeat
the experience of worrying about our kids being hospitalized or worse
by a peanut butter cookie. If anyone was going to inherit the
tendency, it would be our three kids. I followed the allergists advice
- I breastfed exclusively, I delayed the start of solids to 6 months,
I was extremely careful and slow with introducing solids (one at a
time, slow etc.), and we also had a list of things from the allergist
to avoid for the first year, like eggs, strawberries, shellfish etc.
We kept them away from nuts for the first several years.

And hey, I do have allergic kids, which is no surprise - they get
hayfever, they get rashes from perfumed soaps, they can't be near
dogs, two of them are asthmatic. However, not a single, solitary food
allergy. Zip, nada, none.
I'd say my unscientific observation is that the allergist hit the ball
out of the park with his advice.

I honestly wonder if the advice when WE were babies was the cause of
our multiple food allergies. We're of the generation where very, very
early solids were pushed - I have the instruction sheets from the
doctor given to both our mothers, and they make my hair stand on end
(i.e. feeding a 2 month old eggs etc.). I think in susceptable kids,
prudent avoidance is a good plan. Costs you nothing, and the potential
risks way outway any minor inconvenience.

If I hadn't done what I did, and a kid of mine had ended up with a
serious food allergy, I'd have always wondered if I could have done
something to prevent it.
But even if one had ended up with a serious allergy, at least doing
what I did, I could have told myself I did the best I could, and did
everything I could based on the best information I could get.

By the way, when you think about allergy suseptibility, don't think
JUST food. You don't inherit specific allergies. You inherit the
tendency to develop allegies (i.e. an immune system prone to
mistakes)and the specifics is driven by what you are exposed to at
vunerable windows in life. If you have anyone in your family with
severe allergy to anything, from the dye in their watch strap to bee
stings to the sesame seeds on a cracker, you have it in in your gene
pool!

Our pediatric allergist says that the vunerable window seems to be the
first three years to five years or so - he says if you don't have food
allergies by that point, its unlikely you are going to develop them
later. I presume that has something to do with a maturing immune
system.

Mary G. (whose kids can eat anything they want, whoo, ha!)

I've often wondered about the logic to this. IMO, allergies are inherited
and genetic and if you're going to get them you will, if you won't you won't
My mother ate peanuts through all her pregnancies and breastfed us all. None
of us have food allergies. Two out of three suffered asthma, as did our
parents, and one has a rare allergy to cold but that's it...I don't see how
that can be blamed on nuts.
It makes sense to delay commonly allergic foods until a child is older,
especially where allergies run in the family, because a reaction could kill
especially in a very young child, but I don't see the point of avoidance in
pregnancy/breastfeeding.

"Dagny" wrote in message
link.net...
Rant: When will we start learning not to listen to doctors and just live
and parent like everything is normal?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472339?mpid=26753


... The researchers concluded that partial food avoidance strategies in
the
third trimester and during breastfeeding were not effective in preventing
sensitization to food among these high-risk children. On the contrary, the
strategies seemed to worsen the outcome, for unknown reasons.

"We have concerns that these avoidances may enhance sensitization to foods
in high-risk children," Dr. Appelt concluded. ...

Amy wrote:

I've often wondered about the logic to this. IMO, allergies are inherited
and genetic and if you're going to get them you will, if you won't you won't
My mother ate peanuts through all her pregnancies and breastfed us all. None
of us have food allergies. Two out of three suffered asthma, as did our
parents, and one has a rare allergy to cold but that's it...I don't see how

The tendency to atopic disease is inherited, but
the manner in which that tendency is *expressed* (allergies,
asthma, eczema, etc.), if at all, is partly determined by
exposure. You take a child with a tendency to atopic disease
and expose him or her to highly allergenic foods before the
immune system is fully developed, and you may get food
allergies where you might not have otherwise. Some would
argue that exposure in small, controlled amounts may
help protect against the development of allergies, but
research is still very equivocal on this point.
Anyway, the point is that it is *not* the case
that you inherit a nut allergy and there's nothing you
can do about it at all. You may be able to avoid it
by delaying the introduction. The reason that there has
been discussion of avoiding exposure during pregnancy and
nursing is that there have been cases where babies have
reacted to their very first exposure to peanuts. Since
they know you *can't* react on your first exposure (you
have to have been sensitized through a prior exposure),
they theorized that the children might have been exposed
during pregnancy or breastfeeding and subsequently found
that nut proteins can pass intact over the placenta or
through breastmilk.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Thanks for the info Ericka. I guess I feel that coming from a family with no
history of food allergies, and as a vegetarian, the benefits to me of eating
nuts (in moderation) outweigh the potential risks.
It's good to hear the reasons for it though, it doesn't make it seem quite
so pointless passing on the peanutbutter.

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...
Amy wrote:

I've often wondered about the logic to this. IMO, allergies are
inherited
and genetic and if you're going to get them you will, if you won't you
won't
My mother ate peanuts through all her pregnancies and breastfed us all.
None
of us have food allergies. Two out of three suffered asthma, as did our
parents, and one has a rare allergy to cold but that's it...I don't see
how

The tendency to atopic disease is inherited, but
the manner in which that tendency is *expressed* (allergies,
asthma, eczema, etc.), if at all, is partly determined by
exposure. You take a child with a tendency to atopic disease
and expose him or her to highly allergenic foods before the
immune system is fully developed, and you may get food
allergies where you might not have otherwise. Some would
argue that exposure in small, controlled amounts may
help protect against the development of allergies, but
research is still very equivocal on this point.
Anyway, the point is that it is *not* the case
that you inherit a nut allergy and there's nothing you
can do about it at all. You may be able to avoid it
by delaying the introduction. The reason that there has
been discussion of avoiding exposure during pregnancy and
nursing is that there have been cases where babies have
reacted to their very first exposure to peanuts. Since
they know you *can't* react on your first exposure (you
have to have been sensitized through a prior exposure),
they theorized that the children might have been exposed
during pregnancy or breastfeeding and subsequently found
that nut proteins can pass intact over the placenta or
through breastmilk.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Amy wrote:

Thanks for the info Ericka. I guess I feel that coming from a family with no
history of food allergies, and as a vegetarian, the benefits to me of eating
nuts (in moderation) outweigh the potential risks.
It's good to hear the reasons for it though, it doesn't make it seem quite
so pointless passing on the peanutbutter.

If you don't have a history of atopic disease on
either side of the family (allergies, asthma, eczema,
etc.), then I don't know of any group that is currently
recommending that you avoid nuts or peanuts during
pregnancy or breastfeeding. As far as I know, the
groups that are recommending that only recommend it
for those with a family history of atopic disease.
If your child doesn't have the predisposition to atopic
disease, the odds he or she will develop a peanut allergy
no matter what you do are quite low.

Best wishes,
Ericka