Allergies are common, and anyone can develop them at any age. An allergy is an immune response that occurs when the body mistakes a harmless substance for a threat.. This then causes your body to overreact, leading to symptoms that range from mild to life threatening. One of the most common allergens is peanuts. However, recent studies have shown that there is a way we can lower the risk of developing this allergy. A new study has found that food allergies in young children have fallen sharply since 2017, when the guidelines for introducing common allergens into the child’s diet were changed. For many years, experts advised parents to avoid giving common allergens to their babies because allergy rates were climbing. However, a major study in 2015 discovered that feeding peanuts to infants could slash their risk of developing a peanut allergy by over 80%. Based on this finding, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued official guidelines in 2017 recommending this early-introduction approach. How Much Did Peanut Allergy Cases Go Down? The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed food allergy rates in children under the age of three before and after the 2017 guidelines were issued. The results showed a significant decline: Overall food allergies dropped to 0.93% between 2017 and 2020, down from 1.46% between 2012 and 2015.This represents a 36% reduction in all food allergies.The decline was mainly driven by a huge 43% drop in peanut allergies.The study noted that eggs have now taken over peanuts as the most common food allergen in young children.Can People Outgrow Allergies? While the study didn't directly track what infants were fed, the data is highly encouraging because the drop in allergies happened right after the new guidelines were put into effect. While the results are highly encouraging, the study noted that many doctors and parents still haven't fully adopted the new advice. Surveys show that full compliance remains low among both pediatricians and caregivers. The study also found shifts in the racial and ethnic breakdown of children diagnosed with food allergies. Compared to the pre-guidelines period, there were fewer food-allergic children who were Black, Asian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic in the post-guidelines period, with an increased proportion of White children. The researchers noted that these changes might reflect differences in how easily different groups can access healthcare and information about the new feeding practices. Experts see this as a major public health success. Experts see this as a major public health success, noting that the data provide real-world evidence of how a simple public health recommendation can improve children’s health. This is particularly important for peanut allergies, which 80% of people never outgrow and can be life-threatening. While the reasons for food allergies are still not completely understood, some scientists believe factors like higher rates of C-section births, early use of antibiotics, and increasingly sanitized environments may still play a role. However, the data suggests that early introduction is a powerful tool to protect children.
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