I've just read the following interesting article regarding breastfeeding and allergies and would love your thoughts on it.
My eldest daughter was breastfed exclusively for 15 weeks and continued breastfeeding until she was 16 months old. However, she still has severe grass pollen allergies which my consultant told me were genetic and no amount of breastfeeding would have prevented them. As you can guess I was just a bit dismayed by this news as one of the main reasons I had chosen to breastfeed was so that my children would be less likely to go through the misery of hayfever that blights my life to this very day!
However, I'm always interested to find out what science has to say about the subject of allergies in relation to breastfeeding anyway.
It was interesting to me to note the fact that introducing solid foods like potatoes and fish was related to increased sensitivities to pollen, animal dander and dust mites, all of which I am allergic to but I was bottle fed and had these foods introduced very early on as was common in the 70's. On top of that potatoes are pretty important here in Ireland and almost every baby is weaned onto potatoes pretty soon after weaning commences.
Ayway, here's the article:
Delaying solid foods when children are babies may be tied to food allergies later on, Finnish researchers say.
Introducing eggs, oats, and wheat into an infant's diet late in the game -- around age 6 months -- was associated with food allergies by age 5, Bright I. Nwaru, MPhil, MSc, of the University of Tampere, and colleagues reported online in Pediatrics.
In a related finding, late introduction of potatoes and fish was tied to sensitivity to inhaled allergens, such as pollen, animal dander, and dust mites.
"Introducing solid foods late to the child may increase the risk of being sensitized to these allergens," Nwaru wrote in an e-mail.
Read more at www.medpagetoday.com
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