Do peanuts cause asthma?
Categories: Pregnancy & birth, Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, Medical conditions, Mealtime
According to new research, they just might. A recent study suggests that pregnant mothers who eat nuts may impact their child's health later on. Women who consume nuts or "nut-products" like the beloved peanutbutter may increase the risk of asthma in their children by as much as 50%.
Before we go any further, I would like to point out for the record that peanuts are NOT nuts, they're legumes. It's true. Anyway, the Dutch researchers in charge of the study are leary of advising pregnant women to forego peanuts as they provide protein and nutrients. Although seafood also causes similar allergic reactions in children, the researchers were only able to make a connection to peanuts.
Four thousand women were surveyed for what they ate while pregnant along with their children's eating habits over eight years. The research indicated that women who ate nut products daily were more likely to have children with asthma. The link persisted despite factoring for the children's diet. Although there is no conclusive evidence at this time, the researchers think the toxin from the peanuts could pass through the placenta and sensitize the unborn baby. Needless to say, more studies are needed before anyone throws out her peanut butter jar!
Photo by Dr Stephen Dann.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jennifer 7-19-2008 @ 11:37AM
I recently came across this study and here is the issue I had with it:
The "line" was drawn at the daily consumption of nuts/nut products. Meaning you could have them/it 6 out of 7 days of the week and the risks were not present.
How can 1 extra serving a week cause the problems with asthma???? Logically it just doesn't make sense to me.
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20080714/nutty-diet-in-pregnancy-asthma-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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Jan Bay 7-19-2008 @ 12:41PM
It appears to me that they may be relying too heavily on the fact that many children who have asthma are also allergic to peanuts and vice versa as is the case with one of my girls. By the way, I have two older girls that don't have this problem and can't remember any sudden changes in my diet during my third pregnancy.
Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/
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maryellen 7-28-2008 @ 4:36PM
This could be too tough to track. It is known that peanuts can harbor lots of bacterium like aflotoxin and other fungi as do all nuts. Maybe scientists should be testing the nuts for fungi and bacterium before they are ingested. Could very well be that if the toxins cross the placenta the baby's undeveloped immune system is actually slowly growing in strength against the toxin that is ingested with the nut protein. When the child first eats a nut or legume the immunty is already there for the bacterium but it also may be associated with the nut protein and the body's immunity kicks into overdrive.
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