A new study has found allergies could be reduced by up to 77% if parents feed their babies peanut foods from 4 months old

Parents have been advised to give their babies a spoonful of peanut butter while weaning BEFORE they reach 6 months old – to help prevent allergies.

Research shows that babies introduced to peanut between 4 and 6 months of age are much less likely to have a reaction to peanut than babies introduced after 6 months old.

And now, authors of the research – experts from the University of Southampton – are calling on the government to change current NHS advice which states peanuts should only be fed to babies from 6 months old.

The researchers explained babies should never be given chopped or whole peanuts due to choking risk, but should instead be fed spoonfuls of peanut butter, or alternatively peanut puff crisps mixed with water.

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'We suspect the government will change the guidance'

Graham Roberts, lead author of the study, said: 'Our research clearly shows that babies introduced to peanut between 4 and 6 months of life are much less likely to have a reaction to peanut than babies introduced after 6 months of age.

'We would suggest this is the time for the government to relook at this evidence, and I suspect they will change the recommendations around introducing peanuts.'

The experts said their findings gives the NHS a 'simple, low-cost intervention' which would 'deliver vast benefits for future generations.'

77% of allergies could be prevented

Over recent decades, the UK has seen a threefold rise in peanut allergies, with 1 in 50 children affected as well as being at risk of potentially deadly reactions.

However, the new government-backed study found if all babies were given peanut butter between 4 and 6 months old, 77% of allergies, or 10,000 per year, could be prevented.

Babies with eczema should be given peanuts earlier

The analysis revealed if the 640,000 babies born across the UK every year were given peanut butter from 4 months, the amount of children that developed allergies per year would lower from 13,000 to 3,000.

And the study showed if parents did not feed their little ones the peanut spread until 12 months, there would just be a 33% decrease.

The study also found babies with eczema, who were more likely to get an allergy to peanuts, should be fed them even earlier than 4 months, although the baby 'needs to be ready.'

The study looked at data from two major clinical trials in the UK, which included almost 2,000 children, and was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Paediatric dietitian at King’s College London, Mary Feeney, said breastfeeding is recommended to continue alongside introducing solid foods.

'Babies' bodies will recognise nuts as a safe food'

The dietician also recommended peanut butter should be introduced to babies as part of 'normal complementary feeding' after they had started to eat small quantities of solid foods like pureed fruit.

The study found giving babies peanuts at this young age while their immune systems were still developing meant their bodies were more likely to recognise the nuts as a safe food.

Explaining that more serious allergic reactions to peanuts which involved breathing problems were 'extremely rare in babies,' the author continued: 'In our experience, babies usually only have minor reactions to peanut.

'This might be some swelling or an itchy rash. These tend to get better quickly; some antihistamine may make the child more comfortable.'

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