1:40
“One of the thoughts is that we’ve made the world too clean for children,” Besser explained. “Our children need to be exposed to things early in life so that they’re immune system tones down.”
This so-called “hygiene hypothesis” proposes that when the immune system is introduced to possible allergens early on, it does not develop severe reactions when subjected to them later on.
@DrRichardBesser breastfeeding, noticed rash on 8week old after I ate cashews. Do I stay away from all nuts?
— Tricia Williams (@tricianw) February 24, 2015
“If your child already has food allergies or is at high risk, they need to be skin-tested before you do anything,” Besser said, adding that it’s important to discuss any diagnosed or potential allergies with your child’s doctor.
@GMA @DrRichardBesser peanuts yes/peanuts no coffee yes/coffee no wine yes/wine no ... what/who are we to believe? #trust #drknowsbest
— rose howe (@howe_rose) February 24, 2015
Besser said he understood parents’ frustration with changing health information but every new, well-designed study helps us learn. The current thinking is that any child not at high risk for allergies should be exposed to a wide variety of foods as a baby.
“No milk, no honey but everything else is good to go for babies in the first year of life,” he said.
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