Canadian researchers have concluded through a research that parents who do not offer ample cow milk, eggs and peanuts to their newborns, can increase the risk of wheeze, asthma and eczema in the later stages of the baby’s childhood. Delaying the introduction of potential allergy-causing foods like cow milk products, eggs and peanuts to baby during the first year can increase the chances of a food allergy in later life.
Allergy from peanuts, cow milk and eggs have been found to be most common among food allergies. This indicates lack of these foods during the initial years of baby’s life. This food sensitization early in life can increase the chances of wheeze, asthma and allergic rhinitis in later life ,according to Dr. Malcolm Sears from Mcmaster University in Ontario. While the chances of all food-sensitized babies becoming food allergic is not 100% but sensitization is very important step to avert any trouble.
According to data from more than 2,100 Canadian children, it has been found out that children, who stay away from cow's milk products in their first year were almost four times more probable to be sensitised to cow's milk as compared to children, who consumed cow's milk products before 12 months of age.
Likewise, infants who avoided egg or peanut in their first year were nearly twice as likely to be sensitised to those foods compared to infants who consumed them before 12 months of age.
"Early introduction of eggs before one year of age seemed to be especially beneficial, as it significantly reduced the odds of developing sensitization to any of the three food allergens," said the study's first author, Maxwell Tran.
"To our knowledge, this is the first observational study in a general population of infants to report on how the timing of introduction of multiple foods affects the risk of developing a food allergy."
"This is an important shift in thinking away from avoidance of potentially allergenic foods, toward their early introduction to reduce the risk of food allergy later on."
The study is published in the journal of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.
