Why I Believe Removing Peanuts from School is the Wrong Move

what the science got WRONG about allergies

Ever wonder why there are so many kids with peanut allergies? Or why so many people suffer from seasonal allergies? There’s multiple reasons, but how we approached the introduction to allergens in the first year of life has a part to play.

Peanut allergy is around 2.6% in NZ and 4.5% in US. In Israel, it’s 0.2%. Why?

Peanut is introduced to babies on teething rings in middle easter countries in the first couple of months of life! When you introduce things EARLY, in the first 12 months of life, you’re less likely to have an allergy. Early exposure trains your immune system to recognise what is foreign or not.

so what went wrong?

In relations to peanuts, there was a recommendation made, by the American Academy of Paediatrics that said ‘do not feed peanuts to your children until after the age of 2 years”.

Siblings were however eating peanuts etc so they were in the environment, and the first introduction to peanuts for babies was through the SKIN. The skin is the largest immune organ in your body, so when you’re exposed through the skin your body detects it as foreign. Now when it gets introduced AFTER the age of 2, the body has an abnormal reaction.

other factor involved in the rise in allergies

Introduction of early antibiotics in mothers who are pregnant and in babies before the 12 months of age. The antibiotic disrupt the microbiome, which is responsible for creating a proper immune system response.

Increased number of c-section births. You are by-passing the babies initial exposure to the good bacterial in the vaginal canal. These babies are more prone to have allergic disease.