Splashed across the news today was a study from the Australian National University that reported a statistical link between breastfeeding and nut allergy, particularly peanut allergy. Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months got an especially bad rap from the study authors, according to media reports. “Breast feeding… may, in fact, be causative of allergy”, the study authors have concluded.
So what’s going on?
At first I thought there might be something to it. After all, Australia’s own revised NHMRC guidelines are somewhat behind the times in their recommendations on when to introduce solids. The best, recent evidence from scientific studies suggests that there is a ‘critical period’ for introduction of many different types of solid foods. If the introduction of the food is delayed, it actually increases the risk of allergy. The timing of this… Read the rest