Eating peanuts during pregnancy can lower the chances of allergies in children, a latest study states.
Michael Young, MD, and colleagues at Boston Children's Division of Allergy and Immunology found that women who are non-allergic to nuts should consume peanuts to avoid the risk of allergy in their kids.
The researchers examined data collected from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). The data involved diet habits, mostly peanuts and other nuts, of the mothers of 8, 205 children peri-pregnancy, reported CBS News. They compared the data with the eating habits of pregnant women whose children did not develop a peanut allergy.
The study is published in JAMA Pediatrics.
The study results showed that allergy levels were significantly low among the children whose mothers had peanut-rich diet during the peri-pregnancy period.
"Assuming she isn't allergic to peanuts, there's no reason for a woman to avoid peanuts during pregnancy," Young said.
"No one can say for sure if the avoidance recommendation for peanuts was related to the rising number of peanut allergies seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but one thing is certain: it did not stop the increase," Young said. "It was clear that a new approach was needed, opening the door for new research."
A recent study by Harvard researcher showed that eating all types of nuts could increase life expectancy by 20 percent. The study authors found that consumption of various nuts such as peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, pecans, cashews, pistachios, and pine nuts can reduce the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
