This deeper look into the benefits of early peanut exposure is brought to you by Aralyte; however, all opinions are my own.
I was talking to my daughter-in-law a few weeks ago about a new study which shows that exposing infants to peanut butter early in life can reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy. With 15,000 children across the country rushed to emergency rooms each year due to peanut allergies and peanut being the largest cause of anaphylaxis and food-related deaths, this was too important not to find out more about it immediately.
Early Peanut Exposure – LEAP Study Results
The LEAP study was conducted by the Immune Tolerance Network and sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (part of the National Institutes of Health). LEAP stands for Learning Early About Peanut allergy. The study found that contrary to previous recommendations by allergists to avoid infant exposure to commonly allergenic foods, it was more actually beneficial to expose them. In fact, avoidance may have contributed to the rise in food allergies including peanut over the last few decades.
In the study, a group of infants deemed at high-risk of developing a peanut allergy was dived into two groups. One group consumed peanut-containing snack foods at least three times a week, starting between the ages of 4 months and 11 months. The study found that only 3% of the babies in this group developed the allergy by their fifth birthday. The other group was told to avoid peanut products. The researchers found that 17% of the avoidance group babies developed the allergy by the time they were five years old.
Factors such as a c-section birth or family history of peanut allergy, egg allergy, hay fever, asthma, eczema, or tingling of the mouth upon eating certain fruits are all indicators that your child may be at a higher risk for developing a food allergy. Your child’s doctor will determine if your child should undergo diagnostic testing, such as a skin prick test, prior to starting Aralyte.
That lead the LEAP study researchers to recommend early peanut exposure for infants. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released the Consensus Communication on Early Peanut Introduction and the Prevention of Peanut Allergy in High-risk Infants in which they outlined and recommended the LEAP protocol.
The study LEAP study findings and AAP Consensus Statement are great news for parents, especially those who already have a severe peanut allergy in the family. By following a peanut exposure protocol, it’s possible any new offspring they have can avoid having to deal with the allergy at all.
Aralyte – A Safe & Convenient Way to Expose Your Infant to Peanut Products
That’s where Aralyte comes in. It’s a safe and convenient way to proved the only doctor-recommended liquid peanut formulation that can be mixed with breastmilk, formula, or baby food (or try Ame’s method of sucking it directly from the tube!).
The kit includes ingredient information (all-natural distilled peanut extract made from organic peanut flour, organic safflower oil, and vitamins E, A & D) and a recommendation that the first doses take place in your doctor’s office (schedule it as part of your child’s checkup). Once the first dose has been administered, your doctor can give you the best home schedule for your child.
We opted to do Ame’s first dose at home because her grandfather is a firefighter/EMT with 35+ years of experience and we’re 2 minutes away from the closest fire station and seven minutes from our hospital. Still, if Ame were high-risk for a peanut allergy, we probably would have opted for the doctor’s office or hospital parking lot because if a child is allergic, swelling can block her airway in a matter of minutes.
The other benefit of these single-serve, premeasured, and disposable dosing tubes is for parents who have a severe peanut allergy themselves or another family member in the home is affected. There’s no worry of cross contamination of kitchenware and minimal exposure possibilities – just dose and toss. Each dose contains 4 mL of Aralyte. The dosage is based on the LEAP Study results for the optimal exposure.
This particular formulation provides a choke-free way to expose your infant to peanut allergens to promote her own system to develop a resistance to prevent her from becoming allergic. Thus relieving you from the worry of a deadly allergic reaction to an accidental ingestion of peanuts.
We want to make sure this precious little one is kept as safe as we possibly can. Ame is such a light in our life, and the thought of losing her to a preventable medical condition is just not something we’re willing to live with.
Aralyte can be purchased at aralyte.com
Read more about the LEAP and LEAP-ON Study & Results at www.leapstudy.com
Did you know about the new recommendation and do you have a little one who needs to be treated?
Please Note:
Aralyte closely follows the protocol used in the LEAP Study, which showed that early oral introduction of peanuts could prevent allergy development in high-risk infants; however, Aralyte does not promise the same results as the LEAP Study and does not cure or treat existing peanut allergies. Additionally, while Aralyte contains all organic ingredients and is in the final stages of organic certification, they have not yet received the official certification.
I will have to share this post with a friend that has 2 little ones. We were just talking about this the other day. It makes sense to give it to them at a younger age. It would be so scary to have to deal with a peanut allergy.
I never heard of this before but it seems like a great new for little kids. Hopefully no child needs to suffer in this allergy in the future.
My youngest had food allergies as an infant that she outgrew. I had no clue people actually did that. I learned so much in that short time, but realize I still have so much more to learn. This sounds like a great product for parents to more safely introduce peanuts.
oops – I hit return too fast – my friend’s daughter is expecting another baby so this would be good to try on the second grandkid to avoid the peanut allergy. I always hear the stories and feel so bad!
I wonder if this is the same with other allergies? I would be curious to know more!
I’m sharing this immediately with a good friend whose granddaughter is highly allergic – can’t even use a blender or spoon that has ever touched peanut butter!
I wonder if this is the same with other allergies? I would be curious to know more!
Wow, I never thought of it like this before. I always thought that if they had it, they just had it.
It’s not a huge number difference but it’s noticeably different. Great info!
This is an excellent idea. I love that there is research behind it as well.
Good to know! My kids aren’t allergy in a peanut but I know someone one of her kids had an allergy.
My teen son has an allergy in peanut! We knew it last month and we were really worried.
My niece and cousin are both allergic to peanuts. I was getting all wary because I’m expecting my first and was wondering if this was hereditary. Thank you for the info on this article!!
This is really interesting! So far none of my kiddos have any allergies. I guess they’ve all been exposed to peanuts since early on though so that could really be why!
Oh wow, this is fascinating! I think it would definitely be a good idea to be proactive when it comes to common allergies. Using aralyte could help!
Such good information to know. I know an adult who is allergic and it’s downright scary when peanuts accidentally get ingested (peanut oil in a piece of candy, fo r example). Peanut allergies are no joke.
Very interesting to read. Thankfully no allergies here but sure seems like more kids are having them. I am going to share this with friends that are expecting twins.
Interesting idea. I’m so glad we don’t have to worry about peanut allergies. It must be awful.
Wow this is super interesting! I have so many friends that their kids are allergic to nuts!
What a brilliant idea! I’ve never thought this before, I ‘m glad that I’m not allergy with peanuts so glad you shared this.
This is a good news! I have a lot of friends that their kids have allergies.
Wow I need to share this with a lot of my friends. What an amazing study!
This is a really interesting study. I have a friend who’s daughter is severely allergic to peanuts, so I hope that this really helps lessen the number of infants developing that scary allergy!
This is great information. I don’t have any little ones, but I will share this with my niece and nephew that just had a baby.
Wow! That would be absolutely amazing. What a great study. I hope it helps lots of people.
I had no idea about this research. My granddaughter is 8 months old, so we need to talk to her pediatrician and try this out.
This is such an important idea. Peanut allergies are so incredibly dangerous. Anything we, as parents, can do to mitigate that is essential.
This is an interesting idea. With peanut allergies being so dangerous, I think it’s definitely worth doing. Thanks for sharing this.
This is good to know. My poor niece has a wicked peanut allergy, so we have to be SO careful around her.