Peanuts and Children

Children whose mothers ate peanut products during pregnancy more likely to test positive for peanut allergies.
The CNN (11/1, Landau) "The Chart" blog reported, "A new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology finds that children whose mothers ate peanut products during pregnancy were more likely to test positive for peanut allergies." Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine were quick to point out, however, that such children may not "actually show allergic symptoms, since the test does not indicate the strength of reaction." What's more, "most of the children in the study have not yet ingested peanuts, so it's not known what whether they actually have negative reactions to peanut-containing foods."
Still, investigators "found that among 503 infants who showed signs of milk and egg allergies aged three to 15 months, those whose mothers ate peanuts more than twice a week while they were pregnant had higher levels of antibodies to peanuts than those whose mothers ate peanuts less often," the Time (11/1, Park) "Healthland" blog reported.
Specifically, "the blood test measured levels of a protein known as IgE, which are elevated in people with peanut allergies," WebMD (11/1, Boyles) reported. But, again, "not everyone with high IgE levels is allergic." Nevertheless, the study authors concluded that "maternal consumption of peanuts during pregnancy was strongly predictive for this sensitivity." HealthDay (11/1, Preidt) also covered the study