- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Air Quality Better in Northeast, Midwest
- Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief
- Know Your Asthma Triggers
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Birds Don't Miss a Beat
- Bitter Melon Extract May Slow, Stop Breast Cancer
- Taking the Mystery Out of Hypnotherapy
- ANIMAL CARE
- Safe Toys for Dogs
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- BONES & JOINTS
- Chronic Low Back Pain Is on the Rise
- Study Shows Exercise Shields Against Osteoporosis
- Too Few Screened for Abdominal Aneurysm, Study Says
- CANCER
- Scams and Shams That Prey on Cancer Patients
- Supplements Might Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
- Broccoli May Help Battle Breast Cancer
- CAREGIVING
- Mom's Smoking May Lead to SIDS
- Mild Flu Season Coming to a Close
- Medication Errors Could Be Cut: Experts
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Walk 100 Steps a Minute for 'Moderate' Exercise
- Night Shift Work Hard on the Heart
- Migraines in Pregnancy Boost Vascular Risks
- COSMETIC
- The Acne Drug Accutane More Than Doubles Depression Risk
- New Genetic Links to Baldness Discovered
- Health Tip: After Liposuction
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Dental Implants Need More Work Than Root Canals
- Mom's Vitamin D Levels Affect Baby's Dental Health
- Rheumatoid Arthritis May Harm Gums
- DIABETES
- Fish Twice a Week Cuts Diabetics' Kidney Risks
- Exercise Protects Black Women From Type 2 Diabetes
- Lifestyle Factors Tied to Older Adults' Diabetes Risk
- DIET, NUTRITION
- More Calcium And Dairy Products in Childhood Could Mean Longer Life
- Coffee Beans May Be Newest Stress-Buster
- Natural Oils Help Lower Body Fat For Some
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- FDA Faulted for Stance on Chemical in Plastics
- Skin Woes Take Toll on U.S. Combat Troops
- Disinfectants Can Boost Bacteria's Resistance to Treatment
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Nearly 18 Million Will Have Macular Degeneration by 2050
- Half of U.S. Adults Lack 20/20 Vision
- Magnetic Pulses to Brain Improve Lazy Eye in Adults
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- Traditional Nonsurgical GERD Treatments Not Impressive
- HRT Use Raises Risk of Stomach Trouble
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Sun, Smoke, Extra Weight Add Years to Skin
- U.S. Prepares for Possible Return of Swine Flu in Fall
- Most Women Struggle With Rising Health Care Costs
- HEAD & NECK
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits
- Save Your Aging Brain, Try Surfing The Web
- Study Suggests Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Tumors
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Fish Oil Supplements Help With Heart Failure
- Fewer Heart Attacks After England Goes Smoke-Free
- Shedding Light on Why Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Help the Heart
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- More Medicinal Uses for Pomegranate
- The HPV Vaccine: Preventative Medicine or Human Sacrifice?
- Surgical Masks Could Prevent Flu, Maybe
- KID'S HEALTH
- Keep Safety in Mind While Your Kids Are Cooling Off in the Water
- Babies Who Eat Fish Lower Eczema Risk
- Gene Variation Found in Boys With Delinquent Peers
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Varicose Veins May Mask Larger Problem
- Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count
- More Vitamin C May Mean Less Chance of Gout
- MENTAL HEALTH
- How to Attack Holiday Stress Head-On
- Breast-Fed Baby May Mean Better Behaved Child
- Living Alone Increases Odds of Developing Dementia
- PREGNANCY
- Pregnant Women Exposed To Certain Pollutants Could Lower Childs IQ
- Before Conceiving, Take Folic Acid for One Full Year
- Placebo Acupuncture Tied to Higher IVF Pregnancies
- SENIORS
- Vitamin D May Help Keep Aging at Bay
- Exercise Benefits Even the Oldest Old
- Life Expectancy in U.S. Hits New High
Just Say No to Nuts During Pregnancy
By eHolistic.com Published: 07/15/2008
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- If you've got a strong family history of food allergies or allergic asthma, you might want to think twice before munching a handful of nuts when you're pregnant.
That's because recent research has found that regular consumption of nut products during pregnancy raises the odds of having a child with asthma symptoms by nearly 50 percent.
The study, published in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found "consistent positive associations between maternal nut product consumption, such as peanut butter, during pregnancy and wheeze, dyspnea (shortness of breath), steroid use, doctor-diagnosed asthma and persistent wheeze in children from 1 to 8 years of age," said study author Saskia Willers, a doctoral candidate at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
As many as 4 percent of American children have food allergies, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Slightly more than 1 percent of people in the United States -- or about 3 million -- are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts.
Most allergies develop as a result of repeated "sensitization" to an allergen in susceptible individuals, and each time the body is exposed to the allergen, the reactions tend to increase. It's already recommended that children under 3 not be given nuts or nut products, because their immune systems are still developing and may be more susceptible to allergens, explained Dr. Jennifer Appleyard, chief of allergy and immunology at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit.
"If you say avoid nuts in children, and for nursing mothers because peanut protein can be transferred through milk, do we need to take it a step further and limit nuts during pregnancy?" said Appleyard.
To try to answer that question, Willers and her colleagues reviewed information gathered from interviews of more than 4,000 pregnant women -- 1,327 with a history of allergy or asthma and 2,819 with no such history. The women were asked about their diets, and their children were followed from birth to 8 years of age to assess whether or not diet impacted the risk of developing asthma.
They found no association between maternal consumption of vegetables, fish, eggs, milk or milk products and the development of asthma, according to the study. The researchers also found no association between rare or regular consumption of nuts and the development of asthma symptoms.
However, daily consumption of nut products increased the odds that a child would have wheezing by 42 percent, shortness of breath by 58 percent and steroid use to ease asthma symptoms by 62 percent, compared to children born to mothers who rarely consumed nuts. Overall, the odds of developing asthma symptoms for a child whose mother ate nuts daily were 47 percent higher, according to the study.
But, Willers said, it's too soon to recommend a complete nut ban during pregnancy. "The associations we found are pretty strong, only we are the first to find these effects, so they need to be confirmed by other studies before recommending the avoidance of peanuts and nuts during pregnancy," she said.
Appleyard agreed. "This subject definitely needs further investigation. And, if you can pass on the antibodies that cause nut allergy from mother to fetus, why not other allergies as well?" she asked.
However, she did suggest that women with a strong family history of food allergy may want to limit the amount of nut products they consume during pregnancy.
More information
To learn more about peanut allergy, visit the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.
SOURCES: Saskia Willers, M.Sc., doctoral candidate, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Jennifer Appleyard, M.D., chief, allergy and immunology, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit; July 15, 2008, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Last Updated: July 15, 2008
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
More articles at www.eholistic.com
