Research indicates that introducing peanut butter to babies can decrease the likelihood of a peanut allergy.

Do you suffer from a peanut allergy? And do you want to prevent your child from having to go through the same thing as you? Then give your baby soft peanut butter between the ages of four and six months. New research from Allergy ad Clinical Immunology shows that giving your child soft peanut butter reduces the chance of a peanut allergy.

The chances of not developing an allergy are greatest if you let your child eat some peanut butter between the indicated age of four to six months. There is one condition: it must have a smooth or baby-friendly structure. Allowing your child to eat it every now and then would reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy by as much as 77 percent. If you still think, “I’ll wait to give peanut butter until my child is one year old,” it’s a lot less effective. It would only lead to a reduction of only 33 percent.

According to Allergy UK, one in fifty children in the UK suffer from a peanut allergy. And there are more and more. Symptoms can range from mild, such as a runny nose or itchy tongue, to severe anaphylaxis. This acute severe reaction can be fatal if adrenaline is not administered. Thus, feeding peanuts to babies can be frightening for some parents. So pay close attention to your child when you give it peanut butter and start with small steps.

Prevent peanut allergy with simple method

Previously, another study recommended avoiding peanuts altogether. “This understandably led to fear among parents about introducing peanuts early,” said Professor Graham Roberts, who led the study. According to Roberts, encouraging parents to introduce babies to peanuts could be a “simple, low-cost remedy” that would have “enormous benefits for future generations.”

If you’re considering giving your little one peanut butter, here’s how to do it as safely as possible. For example, you should not give whole nuts or peanuts to children under the age of five, because of the possible choking hazard. If the peanuts are crushed, ground or in the form of smooth butter, they can be given to babies around six months old, according to official guidelines.

Tips from NHS

As a parent, you must be concerned about a possible allergic reaction. So a cautious approach is best to start with. The NHS recommends that foods that can cause allergic reactions be given to the child one at a time and in very small amounts. This way you can recognize every reaction, even the inconspicuous ones. Do allergies, asthma, hay fever or eczema run in the family? Please consult your doctor first.

If an allergic reaction does not occur to these foods, it is important to keep them in your child’s diet. This way you minimize the risk of allergies. It is also important to remember that a peanut allergy does not diminish over time, unlike an egg or lactose allergy. That means anyone caring for your child needs to know which foods to avoid, how to spot a reaction, and what to do next.

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