what is current wisdom about peanut butter?

[stillplayswithbarbies]

What is the current wisdom about when it is okay to start peanut butter and other nuts or common allergens like strawberries? I believe it has changed since my last baby. Does anyone have any links to studies or articles about this?

the baby is 14 months old and she eats everything we eat, and lots if it. It would be nice to be able to slap together a peanut butter sandwich for her.

[brittone2]

It seems to be all over the map. Some newer research is saying delaying too much might actually set kids up for allergies, but I don't think that is conclusive. The AAP statement that I'm aware of seems to say there is no real evidence that delaying makes a difference, but it still seems like one of those issues where there is debate.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;121/1/183

I delayed until 3 with DS. With DD it was more like 2. I still erred on the later side as DH likely had a dairy allergy as a young kid (still tests w/ kind of high numbers but no symptoms at this point in his life), and DS was quite sensitive to dairy through my breastmilk when he was under 1 (he outgrew this, and at the time we did not know about DH's allergy test results).

[stillplayswithbarbies]

wow. So what is everyone doing about peanut butter these days?

I want to be cautious because we don't know her family history for certain. She hasn't shown any signs of allergies so far, and we were told that there are no allergies in her birth family.

[brittone2]

I think it must be tough without knowing the family history in particular.

With baby #3 I'll likely delay until 2 again unless I see compelling evidence either way. Sort of splitting the difference I guess ;) Now that I know about DH's IgE test results, I feel like we should err at least toward a bit of the later side of things. DH also gets like a little bit of redness on his forehead, etc. when he eats a LOT of peanut butter, but doesn't test positive for a peanut allergy. I'm far from an expert on the food allergy thing unlike some of the parents here dealing w/ diagnosed allergies in their kids though. I have only BTDT with DH (and DS's early sensitivities but they were outgrown. We never regular allergy testing for him).

Hopefully some of the parents that keep up with the food allergy research a bit better can give some direction.

I know there was also some talk about how peanuts are processed here vs. other places possibly impacting how allergenic they are???

Here's a study on that topic:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11398088

Not sure where that area of research has gone though...

here's one abstract about early introduction possibly leading to fewer allergies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19000582

[maestramommy]

wow. So what is everyone doing about peanut butter these days?

I want to be cautious because we don't know her family history for certain. She hasn't shown any signs of allergies so far, and we were told that there are no allergies in her birth family.

I started my kids on pb around 14 months. With Dora I did stop for a while because it seemed to be a little too rich for her. I think I started up again at 18 months.

I did find out after all of this that my uncle (mom's bro) is allergic to nuts, as are 2 of his kids. Not anaphylactic, but they do get sick and/or have some hives. Dh's family has no allergy history.

[SnuggleBuggles]

All allergens were fair game after 12m here with ds2 (some a bit before, like whole eggs). With ds1 the info was confusing and I opted to split the 12m my ped said with the 3y other sources said and introduced peanut butter at 24m. That was the only thing we delayed.

Beth

[MontrealMum]

We introduced strawberries very carefully at a year. I think at the time that that was the recommendation. There are food allergies on both sides of the family.

I had DS in for allergy testing (for something else) at just over a year and asked specifically about nuts and p-nut butter. (FIL is anaphalactic to all nuts) We were told that food allergies to specific foods are not inherited, though tendancies to be food allergic are greater if there are food allergic people in your background. So, DS does not have a greater chance to have inherited FIL's or my specific food allergies, though he might be allergic to some other foods. Because of this issue, the allergist recommended we delay peanut butter until age 3.

Of course, the study about late introduction = increase in p-nut allergy came out just after our visit to the allergist! Because of that study I've been trying to get DS to eat p-nut butter for at least a year now (he's 28 months) and he refuses to touch it :banghead:

[jtannerchs]

dd's pediatrician said nothing was off limits after 12 months except chokeable foods (grapes, hotdogs). but even then, just cut them up, and it's fine.
dd is 21 months and has had peanut butter. we don't have any food allergies in our family.

[citymama]

We delayed until 2, but I think DD was exposed to it in breastmilk and maybe even physical contact because I am a PBJ addict. Interestingly, she took to peanuts really well, and still loves them, but can't stand the texture of peanut butter (or any nut butter). Which is too bad given her mostly vegetarian diet. I think different pediatricians say different things - some say after 12 months, some say wait till 2.

[pastrygirl]

From what I understand, it isn't limited to a history of FOOD allergies -- it's ANY type of allergy. If someone in your family has any type of allergy, food or other, then your children might have a propensity towards some type of allergy, food or other.

I waited until 3 with my older son, and also avoid peanuts while breastfeeding. I will probably wait until 3 with my younger son, too. My older son prefers sunbutter, anyway. :)

[rizzo0904]

I'm really lax about this. We started things like strawberries and egg whites well before one year. We did peanut butter and shellfish around 1. I don't think anyone knows if it's better to delay or not. It's all a guessing game.

[cvanbrunt]

Waited until 2yo with DD#1. DD#2 got it earlier. No food alleriges in the family.

[smilequeen]

It's totally all over the map. I tend to think that delaying does nothing to reduce risk, so I introduced PB earlier...15-18 months. I think the biggest thing with allergenic foods is to know the signs of an allergy and to watch your child. I know there is some argument about a child being able to actually verbally tell you about a reaction, but I personally felt like if my son's tongue was itching he was going to let me know, verbally or not YK?

Anyway, none of us has any kind of food allergy (or any allergy really). We do tend to use Sunbutter more than PB b/c DS1 can't take anything with PB to school b/c of other kids with allergies. Sunbutter is a very tasty alternative.

[Snow mom]

This is what my pedi told me:
-Having a food allergy in your family increases the risk that your child will have a food allergy. It won't necessarily be the same food allergy but rather that they are more prone to allergies in general.
-Delaying seems to have no effect on whether an allergy will develop.
-DH has a mild egg allergy and she recommended that we delay PB until at least 18 months. This was based entirely on her feeling that if there is a serious reaction, it is much easier to stabilize a 18 mo than a 12 mo. I thought this was an interesting point and something I had never really thought about in terms of when to introduce foods.

[Nooknookmom]

I think DD2 was eating pb/peanuts by a year. She had dairy/soy allergies and her food choices were SO limited. She had no particular issues w/ nuts, etc. so it was nice to be able to feed her something besides rice products!!

I did "test the waters" with her foods along the way (adding in new ones and waiting) - and we did the same with peanuts. Actually the first time she had a peanut, DH had her in his lap at a restaurant where they let you toss peanuts on the floor and offer them as appetizers. He let her shove one in her mouth and I was like, well, we'll see what happens now!

Thankfully it was one of the few foods a the time that she could eat. Now, I tend to buy Sunbutter b/c I cannot digest peanut butter well and get really bad heartburn. DD's just get sandwiches with that b/c I forget to buy the real stuff!