Avoiding foods during pregnancy may not prevent allergies

[Utopium]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_on_he_me/diet_babies_allergies

Breast-feeding helps prevent babies' allergies, but there's no good evidence for avoiding certain foods during pregnancy, using soy formula or delaying introduction of solid foods beyond six months. That's the word from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is updating earlier suggestions that may have made some parents feel like they weren't doing enough to prevent food allergies, asthma and allergic rashes.

In August 2000, the doctors group advised mothers of infants with a family history of allergies to avoid cow's milk, eggs, fish, peanuts and tree nuts while breast-feeding.

That advice, along with a recommended schedule for introducing certain risky foods, left some moms and dads blaming themselves if their children went on to develop allergies.

"They say, 'I shouldn't have had milk in my coffee,'" said Dr. Scott Sicherer of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Jaffe Food Allergy Institute in New York. "I've been saying, 'We don't really have evidence that it causes a problem. Don't be on a guilt trip about it.'"

Sicherer helped write the new guidance report for pediatricians, published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. Earlier advice about restricting certain foods from moms' and babies' diets has been tossed out and the only surefire advice remaining is to breast-feed.

The report says:

_There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child's risk of allergies.

_For infants with a family history of allergies, exclusive breast-feeding for at least four months can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow's milk.

_Exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months protects against wheezing in babies, but whether it prevents asthma in older children is unclear.

_There is modest evidence for feeding hypoallergenic formulas to susceptible babies if they are not solely breast-fed.

_There is no good evidence that soy-based formulas prevent allergies.

_There is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. Babies should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, however.

The evidence for the earlier recommendations was weak and hasn't been strengthened by new research, Sicherer said.

"You never know what's going to come around the corner, but in the past seven years there hasn't been enough evidence to support the old recommendations," Sicherer said.

Dr. Peter Vadas of the University of Toronto conducted prior research that found peanut protein in breast milk. His work has been cited as a reason for nursing mothers to avoid eating peanuts.

Vadas said he advises breast-feeding mothers to avoid peanuts, but only if there is a family history of peanut allergy, and he makes it clear the advice is arguable.

"There's really no reason to engage in a lot of dietary manipulation except in very specific instances," Vadas said.

[bboyneko]

Everything I have read seems to indicate being kept in an overly sterile environment is what can lead to allergies.. that you need to let your kid be exposed to germs and whatnot especially as a baby in order to ensure they get minimal allergies.

[zartan]

There was an interesting two-page spread in Harpers magazine last month about how the "epidemic" of food allergies is really trumped up bullshit; there is no solid evidence that food allergy prevalence is really on the rise, and the "nonprofits" that are "educating" parents about the problem are well funded by the makers of epinephrine shots that are carried (thus purchased) at all times by "at risk" kids.

Lets look at the first ad that comes up on google when I search "food allergy"

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/

Looks harmless right? Actually looks pretty amateurish, couldn't be a shill for a pharma company huh?

Oh wait, look in the top right corner - it's brought to us by Twinject! and on the left - Epipen! Interesting - would those happen to be the two main products that all allergic kids should carry at all times? Surely they want nothing more than to make sure your kid is safe. better outlaw peanut butter! Don't forget your epipen!

Also might want to see if your kid is depressed or has ADD, I'm sure the makers of Prozac and Ritalin want to give you solid unbiased information just like Epipen....

[zartan]

oh wow look a whole industry of hypoallergenic foods!!!

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=87

just looking out for those kids I'm sure.

[bboyneko]

yay kids!

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/1290883/2/istockphoto_1290883_pregnancy_dance_woo_yay_baby.jpg

[zartan]

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/community.html

whee how about sending the KWFA network $25 a year to participate in their forums.

Seriously what a fucking scam. No doubt there are some kids with very serious allergy problems. But as the harpers article pointed out, a lot of symptoms of panic attacks are virtually indistinguishable from allergic reactions and the hysteria about this issue I'm sure is not helping. Besides causing a lot of kids to lead unnecessarily limited and sheltered lives.

[sassypance]

An article I read recently by an immunologist says that every child should eat a handful of dirt because in 3rd world countries seasonal allergies and food allergies don't exist. I can't say I know from first hand experience, but hey I have to agree that even though we're grossed out by tap water and such, our bodies need to be able to fight off disease and we should expose ourselves to it to build up immunity.

As for kids in this country with food allergies, my parents own a contemporary preschool and they just had to make it peanut butter free (which pissed me off as it is a great protein source for growing children) because one child is so allergic to peanuts/peanut butter that even if it's somehow airborne the child can have a severe allergic reaction according to the child's parents and doctors. He's also allergic to shellfish and red dye. I hope my kids aren't bubble boys and girls. If I have to I may take up the immunologist on that handful of dirt sometime.

Also I can't completely negate the fact that there are food allergies, even domesticated animals have them these days and there are specialty foods for them.

[sassypance]

Here's the article by the way. The 3rd world portion of it came from a television discussion I saw regarding this.

Families and Pets Help Reduce the Risk of Eczema

by Elizabeth A. Peterson, MFA
En Español (Spanish Version)

In 1989, David Strachan proposed that repeated exposure to microbes at an early age, for example as a result of having siblings, owning a pet, living on a farm, or attending day care, actually reduces the likelihood of developing allergic diseases (such as asthma or hay fever ). He reasoned that these early exposures help our immune system to properly adapt, so it would not overreact to routine environmental stimuli, such as potential allergens.

Over the years, some research has backed up Strachan’s hypothesis, and many scientists have come to believe that too hygienic an environment may set the stage for allergic disease later in life.

Since some patients who are exposed to microbes develop infectious diseases while most do not, researchers wondered whether an association existed between the diagnosis of an infectious disease and the subsequent development of allergies. To test this, they compared the prevalence of eczema (a type of allergic disease also known as atopic dermatitis) in children who had been repeatedly diagnosed with infectious diseases, such as colds and otitis media to children who had been repeatedly exposed to environmental microbes without developing these infections. Their study, published in the online version of the May 2004 British Medical Journal found that while early and repeated microbial exposure decreased a child’s risk of developing allergic diseases later in life, repeated infectious diseases actually increased this risk.
About the Study

The researchers enrolled 24,341 pregnant women and their children. Each of the participants was interviewed four times, twice during their pregnancy and twice more when their children were six months and 18 months of age. During the final interview, each mother was asked if her child had either an itchy rash or had been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis within the past two months. They were also asked whether their child had experienced any of the following infectious diseases:

* Cold
* Infectious diarrhea
* Otitis media (ear infection)
* Pneumonia
* Chickenpox

The researchers also collected data on the number of siblings in the family, whether there were pets in the household, whether they live on a farm, and whether the child had been enrolled in day care prior to being six months old.
The Findings

The researchers found that 54% (13,070) of the children had at least one infectious disease during the first six months of life. The majority of these (85%) were colds. They also found that children who had at least one infectious disease prior to six months of age were more likely to develop atopic dermatitis than those who had not been sick. This association increased with each subsequent infection.

The researchers also found that 2638 of the children had developed atopic dermatitis by the time they were 18 months of age. However, unlike with infectious diseases, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis was lower in those children exposed to microbial rich environments, such as living on a farm, having one or more siblings, owning a pet, or attending day care within the first 18 months of life.
How Does This Affect You?

These findings support the hygiene hypothesis as it applies to microbial exposure, but seem to contradict it when an infectious disease develops. They also appear to contradict the results of a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In that study, researchers found that not only were children who had fevers early in life less allergy prone, but that the more fevers they had, the more allergy resistant they became. Clearly, more research is needed before we solve the riddle of our increased rates of allergic disease. Until then, while no one is suggesting Americans stop cleaning their houses, if your toddler decides to sample a handful of dirt while playing in the yard, it may not be such a bad thing.

Source: http://www.med.nyu.edu/patientcare/library/article.html?ChunkIID=80421

[Don Miguel Lush]

OMG, you people know too much about this, all of you must be pregged


:freakout:

[zartan]

don't discount the fact that there is no medical evidence of an increase in deaths due to food allergies and that the makers of Epipen have been behind many of the "nonprofits" and organizations trying to "raise awareness" (i.e. stoke fear) about this "epidemic"...

[stormryder]

He's also allergic to shellfish and red dye.

I once went to one of the Japanese restaurants where they cook the food in front of you (teppanyaki) with some bitch that came in and complained she was allergic to shellfish and they couldn't cook any on the grille.

I think the whole table was about to put a boot in her ass and kick her down the street to the hospital.

[sassypance]

don't discount the fact that there is no medical evidence of an increase in deaths due to food allergies and that the makers of Epipen have been behind many of the "nonprofits" and organizations trying to "raise awareness" (i.e. stoke fear) about this "epidemic"...

Death due to food allergies may not be increasing or common but the severity of the allergic reactions to food allergies can be life threatening, painful, or require some sort of medical treatment. I don't believe it's an "epidemic" by any means but if someone is diagnosed with a food allergy I don't see the harm in carrying Epipen's and such. I hardly think the issue is worthy of "raising awareness" though, it's not like it's a communicable disease or something.

[sassypance]

I once went to one of the Japanese restaurants where they cook the food in front of you (teppanyaki) with some bitch that came in and complained she was allergic to shellfish and they couldn't cook any on the grille.

I think the whole table was about to put a boot in her ass and kick her down the street to the hospital.

Meet me at the mall, it's goin' down. :paddle:

[zartan]

Death due to food allergies may not be increasing or common but the severity of the allergic reactions to food allergies can be life threatening, painful, or require some sort of medical treatment. I don't believe it's an "epidemic" by any means but if someone is diagnosed with a food allergy I don't see the harm in carrying Epipen's and such. I hardly think the issue is worthy of "raising awareness" though, it's not like it's a communicable disease or something.


i agree that you should of course be prepared if you have food allergies. however there is a ton of very harmful hype about this and you can almsot always trace it back to the support of the makers of adrenalin shots.

[sassypance]

People hear the scare tactics through their doctors who hear it from the pharmaceutical companies rather than the studies they should be reading by their colleagues. If/when I become a doctor I'm going to make sure I never operate that way.

[Bioteknik]

my immunology teacher said the same thing about eating dirt as kids, allergies are typically only seen in societies that have higher and higher levels hygeine. Polio used to be so common children would build up a natural immunity to it..

Not exposing kids to the possible allergens while a childs immune system is developing can possibly lead to these crazy food allergies. How many people heard about those no peanut butter rules they've got at day care centers across the US?

[Utopium]

An article I read recently by an immunologist says that every child should eat a handful of dirt because in 3rd world countries seasonal allergies and food allergies don't exist. I can't say I know from first hand experience, but hey I have to agree that even though we're grossed out by tap water and such, our bodies need to be able to fight off disease and we should expose ourselves to it to build up immunity.

http://www.buzzlife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102933