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 .
Maternal dietary folate, folic acid and vitamin D intakes during pregnancy and lactation and the risk of cows' milk allergy in the offspring.
Maternal nutrient intake during pregnancy and lactation potentially influences the development of allergic diseases . Cows ' milk allergy ( CMA ) is often the first manifestation of atopic diseases , but the impact of early nutritional influences on CMA has not been explored . The associations between maternal intakes of folate , folic acid and vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation were addressed in a prospect i ve , population -based birth cohort within the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study . Mothers of 4921 children during pregnancy and 2940 children during lactation provided information on maternal dietary intake during the 8th month of pregnancy and the 3rd month of lactation using a detailed , vali date d FFQ . Information on diagnosed CMA in the offspring was obtained from a medical registry as well as queried from the parents . The Finnish food composition data base was used to calculate nutrient intake . Logistic regression was applied for statistical analyses .  Folate intake and folic acid and vitamin D supplement  use were associated with an increased risk of CMA in the offspring , whereas vitamin D intake from foods during pregnancy was associated with a decreased risk of CMA . Thus , maternal nutrient intake during pregnancy and lactation may affect the development of CMA in offspring . Supplementation with folic acid may not be beneficial in terms of CMA development , especially in children of allergic mothers . The association between dietary supplement use and CMA risk can at least partly be explained by increased health-seeking behaviour among more educated mothers who also use more dietary supplements
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 .