So confusing…
Posted on May 1st, 2007 by alisonA new study says that perhaps introducing highly allergenic foods (like peanut) early in life would increase tolerance later in life. This goes against the previous belief that food allergies develop when the allergenic food is introduced too early. What’s the right answer? Unfortunately, no one knows (yet).
My Daughter #1 is allergic to eggs, cashews and avocados – things I ate a LOT of while pregnant and nursing. This example would seem to support the theory that early exposure (via breastmilk) triggers the allergies. Now I am nursing my Daughter #2 and trying not to eat a lot of the things Daughter #1 is allergic to – am I doing the right thing?? So confusing! Sigh. Stay tuned…
Don’t kick yourself over what you did or didn’t eat when pregnant.
I didn’t eat peanuts — and my son is highly allergic to them. I switched to almond butter instead of peanut butter — and he’s not allergic to almonds. I also ate cashews and pecans — and he’s allergic to them, but not as much as to peanuts. And I drank a LOT of milk, and he’s moderately allergic to milk.
You can’t win. And the first thing my allergist said was, “it’s not your fault, so don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Thanks Gladys for the pep talk — sometimes I think I can control things and then I think I have no control!