Scientists find peanut-eating prevents allergy, urge rethink

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - In research that contradicts years of health advice, scientists said on Monday that babies at risk of developing a childhood peanut allergy can avoid it if they are given peanuts regularly during their first 11 months. The study, the first to show that eating certain foods is an effective way of preventing allergy, showed an 80 percent reduction in the prevalence of peanut allergies among high-risk children who ate peanuts frequently from infanthood, compared to those who avoided them. "This is an important clinical development and contravenes previous guidelines," said Gideon Lack, who led the study at King's College London. "New guidelines may be needed to reduce the rate of peanut allergy in our children." Rates of food allergies have been rising in recent decades, and peanut allergy now affects between 1 and 3 percent of children in Western Europe, Australia and the United States.



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