 Nursing Mother's with a history of asthma or eczema may need to be
more cautious about foods they consume. A study being done in
Canada has found that nursing mothers may pass peanut proteins in
breast milk to their infants. Such early exposure to these kind
of allergens could put babies at risk, developing potentially fatal
allergies.
A recent Food and Drug Administration study also found that many food
manufacturers fail to list highly allergenic ingredients such as
peanuts, eggs and milk that are in their products. About 7
million Americans who suffer from food allergies rely on ingredient
labels to tell them which processed foods are safe. Some food
allergies, particularly peanut allergies, can be fatal -- they cause
about 150 deaths each year.
Mothers who breast-feed their children may be able to prevent them
from developing such allergies by monitoring their diets, according to
a Canadian study. Researchers said babies with one or both parents
with a history of asthma, eczema or other allergy-based diseases are
at risk of peanut allergy, because those children can be identified at
birth, nursing mothers could avoid exposing them to the allergen by
not consuming peanut products while nursing.
Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Ontario,
said breast milk had been suspected as a hidden route by which
children became sensitized to peanuts. Avoiding exposure through
breast milk does not guarantee that children can avoid peanut allergy
when they are exposed to the food at a later age. It is now
believed the allergy is often triggered by exposure early in a child's
development. Doctors generally recommend that parents not feed
children peanut products until age 3.
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