Peanut Power!

When you are pregnant, you are given all kinds of no no's. You can't lift anything over 25lbs (Ava weighs 32lbs). You can't drink or smoke or run around with anyone who does (not a problem- except when you have a craving for yummy fruity drinks). You shouldn't have coffee (that is a joke for me). You can't sleep on your belly, left side or your back (that is just the most ridiculous...if you lay on your right side, you trigger sciatic nerve pain...). You shouldn't wear high heeled shoes. You can't eat soft cheese, strawberries, nuts, fish and some other various things. I have to tell you, with the exception of the smoking and drinking thing, I do not pay attention to anything. I didn't with Ava either. Call me a bad mom, but while I see the possibilities of danger in some of these things (mercury in fish, allergies in strawberries and nuts), I don't see the need to freak myself out. Moderation is the key. I had a salmon fillet a couple weeks ago. I have a cup of coffee every morning, like I have for the past 10 years of my life. I eat peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches once in a while. I sleep on my belly (yep my belly), my back, my right and my left side. I'm going to be wearing a pair of kitten heels today. I can't wear anything over 2 inches anyway. I just don't see the reason to totally change every little thing and go organic and feel like a piece of delicate glass for 9 months. Give me a break, women have been having babies since the dawn of time. All these warnings and no no's create a real danger: stress. Well, I'm not going to stress.

I have been saying for the past year that I think the whole peanut allergy freak out is a little excessive. I told a few people, "They tell us not to introduce peanuts during pregnancy and to our kids until after they are two. And then, after they tell us this, there is a huge outbreak of children with major peanut allergies. Don't you think that could mean kids will have a low tolerance for it and should be given them earlier to prevent that?" Everyone thought that made sense. I didn't exactly start a peanut revolution, but I really wondered if kids were getting sick because they were not introduced peanuts until later. I really didn't listen to the warning anyway. I love peanuts and peanut butter, and I ate them during my pregnancy with Ava and I introduced them to Ava pretty early. She loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches too.

So, I had to laugh when I saw this article this morning:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27596933/

Early exposure to peanuts may prevent allergy
Widespread guidelines recommend avoiding the food in pregnancy, infancy

NEW YORK - Contrary to widespread recommendations, the consumption of peanuts in infancy is associated with a low prevalence of peanut allergy, the results of a new study suggest.
"Our study findings raise the question of whether early introduction rather than avoidance of peanut in infancy is the better strategy for the prevention of peanut allergy," write researchers in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
In the UK, Australia and, until recently, the United States, guidelines have recommended that women avoid peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and should not introduce peanuts into their children's diets during infancy, note Dr. George Du Toit of King's College London and colleagues.
The researchers analyzed the prevalence of peanut allergy and diet histories for 5,171 Jewish children from the UK and 5,615 Jewish children from Israel.
They found that children from the UK had a prevalence of peanut allergy that was 10-fold higher than that of children from Israel — 1.85 percent versus 0.17 percent.
"This difference is not accounted for by differences in atopy," the investigators write. Atopy is the inherited tendency to develop common allergic diseases such as eczema, hay fever or asthma.
They also found no differences between the two groups in environmental exposure to common causes of allergy, such as house dust mite and grass pollen, social class or genetic background.
"The most obvious difference in the diet of infants in both populations occurs in the introduction of peanut," they note. Approximately 69 percent of infants in Israel consume peanuts by 9 months of age, compared with just 10 percent of those in the UK.
Likewise, when compared with the UK mothers, the Israeli mothers consumed significantly more peanuts during pregnancy, Du Toit and colleagues point out.
The researchers suggest that recommendations to avoid peanut in early infancy could be behind the increase in peanut allergy in the UK, Australia and the US.
In a written statement, Dr. Jacqueline A. Pongracic, who is vice chair of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) committee on Adverse Reactions to Foods, cautions that while this study's findings "provide optimism for prevention of peanut allergy in the future, randomized, controlled trials are needed to verify that early introduction of peanut is indeed effective."
The Learning Early about Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study, a large randomized study in the UK, is currently testing the effects of early peanut exposure.

Hmm.... interesting. I was RIGHT! I love when I'm right. Anyway, I'm not saying I think women everywhere should introduce peanuts to their babies and eat copious amounts of peanut butter during pregnancy. I just think moderation is the key, as always. I think you should still watch what you give your kids to make sure they don't have allergies to some foods. I just don't see the need to eliminate them, just in case. So, regardless, do what you feel. I say eat peanuts with caution, but not too much!

I'm off to go have a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich.