It has become an article of faith among many of my friends that when they are pregnant, they should eliminate foods that could lead to allergies in their children. They forego shellfish, they do without dairy, but most importantly, they avoid peanuts. This behavior continues after their children are born. While they are breastfeeding, they continue to abstain from certain foods. They certainly keep their children, themselves, from eating them.
But research in the last few years had consistently shown that this may be the wrong approach. We may be doing more harm than good with all this avoidance. We might want to consider doing the opposite. That’s the topic of this week’s Healthcare Triage.
This is adapted from a column I wrote for the Upshot. References and links to further reading can be found there.
