A significant Australian trial reveals that increased consumption of eggs and peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding does not reduce the risk of food allergies in children, challenging previous dietary recommendations.
A large Australian trial has found no evidence that eating more eggs and peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding lowers a child’s risk of becoming allergic to those foods.
The PrEggNut study, led by Debra J Palmer at the University of Western Australia and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed 2,137 women with pregnancies in early to mid-gestation and a strong family history of allergic disease. Participants were assigned either to a diet with high amounts of eggs and peanuts or to a more limited intake, then followed through pregnancy and for four months after birth while breastfeeding.
At one year old, infants in the higher-intake group were no less likely to develop IgE-mediated egg or peanut allergy than those in the comparison group. The rates were 7.8% and 8.4% respectively, a difference the researchers said was not statistically significant. The study also found no meaningful effect on sensitisation, eczema or the separate rates of egg and peanut allergy.
The findings are likely to reassure parents who already tolerate these foods and may have worried they needed to change their diets to protect their babies. In an accompanying editorial, Maria C Jenmalm of Linköping University said the results support a more permissive approach: mothers do not need to avoid egg and peanut for allergy prevention, but nor do they need to deliberately eat extra amounts. The study’s authors said the results instead reinforce current advice to introduce egg and peanut directly into infants’ diets at the appropriate age, rather than relying on maternal exposure during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
