Despite several intervention trials involving modifications to the maternal diet , the effect of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation in preventing food allergy remains unclear .
Summary Earlier introduction of allergenic foods is a promising intervention to reduce the risk of some food allergies in high-risk infants .
Purpose of review In the past decade , food allergy has been increasingly recognized as an important public health issue .
The role of maternal and infant diet in the development of food allergy has been a major focus of research throughout this period .
Recently , research in this area has moved from observational studies to intervention trials , and the findings from these trials have started to influence infant feeding guidelines .
In this article , we review recent studies of dietary interventions for preventing food allergy , summarize current knowledge and discuss future research directions .
Early introduction of food reduces food allergy – Pro and Con
Over the past two decades we have been debating the question of whether the age of commencement of complementary feeding affects the risk of developing food allergy . We ate up the notion that delayed introduction of more allergenic foods in early childhood , would help overcome the increasing rates of food allergy , then we promptly spat it out again despite limited evidence . Recently high- quality r and omised controlled trial evidence has given us the confidence to swallow the concept that allergenic foods , like egg and peanut , should be given to infants . We now need to recommend that when an infant is developmentally ready , a variety of nutritious foods should be introduced to ensure high diet diversity , including the ‘ more allergenic ’ foods during infancy . This article is protected by copyright . All rights reserved
Despite several intervention trials involving modifications to the maternal diet , the effect of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation in preventing food allergy remains unclear .
Summary Earlier introduction of allergenic foods is a promising intervention to reduce the risk of some food allergies in high-risk infants .
Purpose of review In the past decade , food allergy has been increasingly recognized as an important public health issue .
The role of maternal and infant diet in the development of food allergy has been a major focus of research throughout this period .
Recently , research in this area has moved from observational studies to intervention trials , and the findings from these trials have started to influence infant feeding guidelines .
In this article , we review recent studies of dietary interventions for preventing food allergy , summarize current knowledge and discuss future research directions .