Article in guardian today suggesting we wean babies on nuts.

[ThomasTankEngine]

This is roughly saying that in countries such as Israel where this happens, there are far fewer allergies.

Hmm, have we all been carefully doing the completely wrong thing for our children?

the LEAP study is looking at this issue

I must admit, I think I deliberately ate nuts whilst pregnant thinking early exposure would be good. No idea whether science backs this up though.

tinker, gideon lack et al are looking at just that..it's not yet understood what the process is

I have to say (and will probably get shouted at) but I ate peanut butter and nuts in pregnancy. (good source of protein, keep iron levels up) My dc are fine. I can't see how a mums' moderate consumption of nuts can create an allergy. If that is so, then surely mum drinking milk creates dairy intolerance in baby, mum eating fish creates fish allerg etc. (or am I oversimplifying this?)

Mind you, I am also of the belief that exposure to germs strengthens your immune system, so my house is never bleached or cleaned with so-called anitbacterial cleaners. (and we are very rarely ill)

Same here Hippipotami.

My children are all teens and peanut butter on toast was often given to babies as a weaning food.

I've never understood the mechanism that says eating nuts in pg can cause allergy either hippo. Mine should be allergic to milk, oranges and fresh cream horns respectively if that is the case as those were my cravings.

oranges - not that takes me back! I was practically addicted to oranges and freshly squeezed orange juice when pg with ds. (who incidentally loves orange juice but not oranges

I never believed the nut advice and ignored it.

Am glad I did now.

Maybe the people in those countries who were susceptible to nut allergy ate nuts and died. Thus the susceptibility was not passed on so the current population can eat nuts happily

I have to say I didn't eat nuts in pg with DD (5) but did with DS (2) and we found out this week he has a nut allergy . He also has really bad eczema. Not sure if me eating nuts contributed to his allergies feel with myself though for eating nuts in pg (not peanuts though).

Hi, I'm very interested in this subject because I've heard a lot about this - someone working on a theory that our cautious attitude to introducing nuts is going to create a huge bubble of nut allergies in the future. It's impossible not to be scared. As someone with lots of allergies (but no food allergies) I was very 'sensible' in pregnancy and didn't eat any peanuts and haven't given my 10 month old a whiff of a nut. I think peanut allergies are almost unheard of in countries where they eat lots of peanuts, but there could be other reasons for this. What I don't really understand is where the advice has come from, what research was done to say 'hold back with the nuts until the baby is older'.

macneil - I think the original no nuts advice was due to chocking risks

choking

macneil - i read something while I was pregnant which said that the research was not just inconclusive, but there was at least as much research to show that not eating nuts in pregnancy was more likely to lead to nut allergies. And also, that the nut allergy might have nothing to do with nuts per se, but wihth other factors (none of which I can now remember)

I ate peanut butter, not excessively when pregnant with DS, was told at 12 weeks not to eat it as it was associated with higher risk of nut allergy. bit late by then, as was the only thing that i didn;t throw back up from 5 weeks in.

ds allergic to peanuts. and probably all nuts but have never given him any others ! also had excema, but grew out of it

was told it was not hereditary, and there was no increased risk of DD having it, but avoided nuts when pregnant just in case, and she is ok, no excema,and far less allergic/ rashy than DS was.

Isn't the advice to not eat nuts in pregnancy for those of us with lots of allergies? I believe the thinking is that babies with the inherited propensity to allergies could be sensitised in the womb by coming into contact with certain proteins.

Anyone a scientist and can shed some light on this?

As DH and I are both allergicy types (eczema, asthma, food allergy etc) I avoided nuts when pregnant. Quite easy as I'm fatally allergic to tree nuts! Only nuts I can eat are peanuts, which I hate, but strangely in pregnancy I craved peanut butter. Maybe I should have listened to my body?

Hmm, that is ringing bells OldestCats. I seem to remember the researcher saying that people with allergies should avoid nuts, but others shouldn't. Although I could be having a False Memory Syndrome episode.

My instinct is the same as Hippis - that very gentle exposure (ie. mum eating nuts sometimes when pregnant) is the best way to prevent severe reactions in DCs. One of the many very interesting things I've learned from Mumsnet is that children who wear line-dried clothes suffer less asthma and hayfever than those wearing practically sterilised tumble-dried clothes, because tiny little particles of pollen etc are present in the clothes from line-drying. thus de-sensitising babies fron day one. Maybe.

Also, never use bleach or anti-bacterial cleaners, but my DCs seem to have fewer tummy upsets than others!? Very hot water and washing up liquid takes care of my kitchen. And flash on the floor.

Am aware that I am very very lucky that neither of my DCs have any allergies. But then none in my family either, perhaps genetics?