Hi all,

Here's the AP press release on the peanut allergy research. You can read the
whole article in JAMA. Basically, they found that peanut proteins pass into
breastmilk. No actual link to peanut allergies were identified ("Infants of
mothers in the JAMA report weren't studied"). Also, no mention to whether or
not eating peanuts during PREGNANCY might sensitize at-risk babies. Most
interesting: note who funded the research!!!!

Did the AAP really issue a policy statement based on ONE research article
with a sample size of 23????

Carol Schlef, RNC, MSW, IBCLC
Humor, Health & Hugs
St. Louis, Missouri USA
mailto:[log in to unmask]

Let Carol provide YOUR group with edutainment for your corporate or
community needs!

Research Suggests Peanut Allergen Can Pass Into Breast Milk
April 3, 2001

CHICAGO (AP) - New research suggests that women who breast-feed after eating
peanuts could potentially trigger an allergic reaction in susceptible
babies.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that peanut protein is transferred
from the maternal diet into the breast milk of lactating women," said Dr.
Peter Vadas, director of allergy and clinical immunology at the University
of Toronto and the study's lead author.

The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association.

Reactions to peanuts can range from hives to life-threatening anaphylaxis,
which may involve sudden low blood pressure, extreme swelling and difficulty
breathing.

While deaths from food allergies are rare, experts think peanut allergies
are on the rise and peanut protein is an especially potent allergen. Vadas
said it's less apt than other foods to break down during processing or
digestion.

About 80 percent of susceptible children develop an allergic reaction after
their first known sampling of peanut products, he said. But typically for an
allergic reaction to occur, the body must have previously been exposed to
the allergen and had time to build up the antibodies that help trigger
allergy symptoms.

The study suggests that in some cases the initial exposure may occur during
breast-feeding. Vadas said peanuts should thus be avoided by nursing women
with at-risk infants - those with a strong family history of any allergies
or who have a parent or sibling with a peanut allergy.

The authors analyzed breast milk from 23 nursing women after they'd eaten
about a half cup of peanuts. Peanut protein was found in samples from 11
women within up to six hours of eating peanuts.

Co-author Dr. Wesley Burks of Arkansas Children's Hospital said the findings
explain allergic reactions such as hives that have occurred in nursing
infants whose mothers had eaten peanuts. Infants of mothers in the JAMA
report weren't studied.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages new mothers to breast-feed for
at least a year and says food allergies are more common in formula-fed
babies. But in a policy statement last August, the academy said that because
other potential allergens have been found in breast milk, nursing mothers of
at-risk infants should avoid eating peanuts.

The study was funded in part by the Peanut Foundation, a nonprofit group of
peanut producers, growers and sellers; and Nestle Canada, a maker of baby
formula.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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