Chances are when you were growing up, you didn’t know any kids with a peanut allergy. But now some 2.5% of kids in this country now may have one, according to data from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The peanut panic is so real that even snack packages for nuts contain the warning “Contains nuts.”
But researchers argue they’ve cracked this scientific nut: In a yearlong study, they found giving kids peanut products starting at infancy slashed the risk of children developing the allergy by age 5 by 81%.
And those who participated in the study in the group that were given peanut products up to year five still weren’t allergic to peanut products through age 6.
The researchers concluded, “Peanut consumption, starting in infancy and continuing to age 5 years, provided lasting tolerance to peanut into adolescence irrespective of subsequent peanut consumption, demonstrating that long-term prevention and tolerance can be achieved in food allergy.”
The findings were just published in NEJM Evidence.
At issue seems to be exposure. Simply put, the more your body is exposed to something, the less chance it has to becoming allergic to it. Similar findings were discovered regarding kids who grew up around dogs and cats as babies. A 2002 study found that kids who grew up around pets were half as likely to be allergic to cats and dogs.
Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.