Peanut allergies may be prevented with exposure

Everywhere you look nuts and nut products are being banned - schools, daycare centers, playgroups and more. Specifically peanuts have been grabbing the public's attention for a few years now as a major factor in childhood allergies.

However, newer research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology notes that maybe the reason peanut allergies are so prevalent is because they're less commonly found in the diet of kids now. The research shows that kids who didn't eat peanuts while they were young were ten times more likely to develop a peanut allergy than kids who did eat peanut products before the age of 12 months. Not that you should rush out and buy a case of peanut butter though. Peanut butter can cause choking in young children, however you may safely be able to bake, say soft peanut butter cookies for your child and not have to be so leery about nut allergies. It makes sense because when I was a kid we all ate peanut butter like mad - me and all the kids around me; it wasn't banned from schools, and you rarely heard of allergies. I gave my son tofu in peanut sauce before he was one years old, and he was fine. Maybe there's something to it. On that note, you should always take new research with a grain of salt. Before giving your tot peanut butter or nuts in a safe form talk with your baby's pediatrician.