Peanut Allergies in Children

Parents knew that exposing their children to certain substances and diseases in early childhood would create the necessary immunities to ward off ailments in later life. As kids in the neighborhood, we never questioned this approach to health because it had always been what we practiced. 

In May 2024, the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence published a study that followed 508 children from ages 6-12 in an effort to learn more about peanut allergies. They found that by age 12, 15.4% of children who avoided consuming peanuts in their early years were allergic vs. only 4.4% of children who consumed peanuts. 

The authors concluded that "peanut consumption, starting in infancy and continuing to age 5, provided lasting tolerance to peanut butter into adolescence irrespective of subsequent peanut consumption, demonstrating that long-term prevention and tolerance can be achieved in food allergy."