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 .
Immune Components in Human Milk Are Associated with Early Infant Immunological Health Outcomes: A Prospective Three-Country Analysis
The role of breastfeeding in improving allergy outcomes in early childhood is still unclear . Evidence suggests that immune mediators in human milk ( HM ) play a critical role in infant immune maturation as well as protection against atopy/allergy development . We investigated relationships between levels of immune mediators in colostrum and mature milk and infant outcomes in the first year of life . In a large prospect i ve study of 398 pregnant/lactating women in the United Kingdom , Russia and Italy , colostrum and mature human milk ( HM ) sample s  were analysed for immune active molecules . Statistical analyses used models adjusting for the site of collection , colostrum collection time , parity and maternal atopic status . Preliminary univariate analysis showed detectable interleukin ( IL ) 2 and IL13 in HM to be associated with less eczema . This finding was further confirmed in multivariate analysis , with detectable HM IL13 showing protective effect OR 0.18 ( 95 % CI 0.04–0.92 ) . In contrast , a higher risk of eczema was associated with higher HM concentrations of transforming growth factor β ( TGFβ ) 2 OR 1.04 ( 95 % CI 1.01–1.06 ) per ng/mL. Parental-reported food allergy was reported less often when IL13 was detectable in colostrum OR 0.10 ( 95 % CI 0.01–0.83 ) . HM hepatocyte growth factor ( HGF ) was protective for common cold incidence at 12 months OR 0.19 ( 95 % CI 0.04–0.92 ) per ng/mL. Data from this study suggests that differences in the individual immune composition of HM may have an influence on early life infant health outcomes . Increased TGFβ2 levels in HM are associated with a higher incidence of reported eczema , with detectable IL13 in colostrum showing protective effects for food allergy and sensitization . HGF shows some protective effect on common cold incidence at one year of age . Future studies should be focused on maternal genotype , human milk microbiome and diet influence on human milk immune composition and both short- and long-term health outcomes in the infant
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 .