Peanuts Can Prevent Allergies In Children

Besides their delicious taste, there is another important reason why peanuts are so good. It has been found that peanuts can prevent various allergies in babies.

Healthcare institutes have recently suggested that babies should be given peanut-containing food before their first birthday. This can prevent some very harmful food allergies in babies. If babies are given peanuts at such a young age, the risk of various allergies is reduced, if not completely eliminated.

According to NBC4i, the National Institute of Health has released some guidelines for parents to determine the exact recommended amount of peanuts and the way it should be consumed by young children. The tips show the right amount needed according to the kids' chances of developing serious allergies.

A special point to note, however, is that babies with critical forms of eczema or egg allergies must not be given peanuts without prior consultation with a doctor, Parents noted. As far as the children with low risk of developing allergies are concerned, they can be given small amounts of peanut by mashing and mixing them with the children's food.

It must be kept in mind that babies should not, under any circumstances, be given a whole peanut or peanut butter. These can be extremely hazardous as the children can choke on the big pieces of peanuts, which could lead to more critical cases.

Exposure to peanuts at an early age is important because it makes the children less sensitive to later allergies,  Dr. Anthony Fauci, the prestigious member of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explained. He also commented the belief that parents should wait until the children are a little grown up to eat peanut is an antiquated and wrong notion but he stressed that children should also be given other foods to test if they are ready to eat peanuts.