Marianne,

Allergies are very very complicated. There is a lot of research into 
susceptibility to allergies, it is shown that genetics accounts for a 
large proportion of allergy, and that a child with 2 allergic parents is 
far more likely to have allergies than not. The IgE (immunoglobulin E) 
system is meant to be active against parasites, and it seems to be more 
active in some people, and more apt to confuse environmental or dietary 
proteins with the parasites it is meant to identify for the rest of the 
immune system to destroy. New research shows that giving severely 
allergic people harmless worms that pig farmers often get (not trichina) 
reduces their allergies significantly. This confirms the "hygeine 
hypothesis" - that we get allergies because our environment is too 
clean. (Though I prefer my springtime sneezing to a nice worm 
infestation any day! But you can see the appeal for people with life 
threatening type 1 hypersensitivities/anaphylaxis...)

There is also research that some mothers protect their babies from 
allergy more effectively during bf than others. There are two white 
blood cell populations, and if one is more active the baby's body is 
more effective at fighting infection, and if the other is, they are more 
apt to become allergic.

Then there's the exposure riddle, some research shows that constant 
exposure to tiny amounts of a substance provokes tolerance (the opposite 
of allergy) and other research shows that early exposure increases the 
risk of allergy, because the baby's gut lining is less mature and less 
protected.

The best we know is that bf usually helps reduce the incidence and 
severity of allergy, that it's important that bf is EXCLUSIVE for the 
first 6 months to protect against allergy, but that genetics plays an 
important role.

Catherine Watson Genna, BS, IBCLC  NYC

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