Why I Fed My Babies Peanut Containing Foods Early and Often
When I was growing up it was the height of the peanut allergy hysteria.
Airlines were ditching the peanut snack, preschools were outlawing peanut butter and nut-free tables were popping up at schools across America.
For awhile there, peanuts seemed pretty big and bad and scary. And it wasn’t all hype. The potential danger that peanuts carried really was on the rise.
In 1999, it was estimated that about 0.4% of kids had peanut allergies but by 2010 that number had jumped to 2% of kids.
Policy makers were not quite sure what to do about this worrisome trend and there was very little research to guide recommendations.
In 2000, based only on “expert opinion”, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended delaying the introduction of peanuts until 3 years old. (In the UK they were delaying introduction until 5 years old.)
However, despite the best intentions of the policy makers, the recommendation to delay introducing peanuts likely increased instead of decreased the number of kids with peanut allergies.
Image courtesy of peanutallergyfacts.com
The Unlikely Breakthrough in Peanut Allergy Research
In 2003, a British pediatric allergist travelled to Israel. There he learned that unlike in his home country, Israeli kids had very low rates of peanut allergy.
He was intrigued to learn that a common snack fed to Israeli babies contained peanuts. The snack is called Bamba and it’s quite similar to Pirate’s Booty or Cheetos but with peanut powder instead of cheese powder.
He came up with this crazy theory that early introduction of peanuts reduced risk for peanut allergy instead of increasing it based on what he had seen in Israel vs the UK.
He compared Israeli babies to Jewish babies living in the UK. The Israeli babies ate 7 grams of peanut protein a week, starting as young as 4 months old. The British babies didn’t eat any peanut protein as was consistent with the UK guidelines at the time. However peanut allergy rates were 10 time higher among British Jewish kids than among Israeli kids.
He then went on to recruit 600 infants who were at high risk for allergies for a randomized, controlled study. One group delayed peanut introduction until age 5 and the other group was told to provide peanuts at least weekly beginning around the time they started eating solids.
The result was up to an 86% reduction in peanut allergy for those who were fed peanuts early and often!
Trader Joes makes their own version of Bamba
New Peanut Introduction Guidelines
Based on the above research, in 2017 the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their peanut related guidelines.
They now recommend that peanuts be introduced “freely” in low risk kids (low risk = no other food allergies or eczema). In high risk infants, they advise peanut introduction as early as 4-6 months of age, however an allergy test is recommended before peanut introduction in this group.
Here’s a link to the current peanut introduction recommendations. +++
How We Handled Peanut Introduction at Our Home
When my boys started eating solid foods, (after clearing it with their pediatrician) I quickly introduced peanuts in the form of peanut powder.
It was one of their first foods as I would mix the powder into their morning oatmeal. I like the use of the peanut powder because it is easy to mix into their foods and it isn’t a choking hazard like whole nuts or large spoonfuls of peanut butter would be.***.
As noted in my previous article on protein, peanuts are a great source of protein. They are the nut highest in protein in fact. They are also a great source of fat and high in a slew of nutrients including magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and several B vitamins.
Sadly this is the only image I could find of my boys eating peanut containing products.
Ramsey starts preschool next week and I recently learned that his school is nut-free.
It’s disappointing, but understandable that the school is doing what they can to protect those who have allergies.
Hopefully with better scientific understanding and improved public guidance, the rate of peanut allergy will continue to decrease to a point where all kids, including Ramsey, can enjoy the quintessential peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a bagged school lunch one day. (Until then, I’m off to stock up on sunflower seed butter for the school year.)
*** Whole nuts should be avoided until at least 4 years of age due to the chocking risk in young kids. Young children should not be fed large globs of peanut butter. If using peanut butter as your peanut source, avoid chunky varieties and mix it in completely to another food such as oatmeal or a smoothie.
+++ Given the tiered system by risk level for introducing peanuts, I recommend that you discuss your plan with your pediatrician before your baby starts eating peanut containing products.