The research also found that infants who are fed fluids other that breast milk have a higher protection against nut allergies. Infants who are solely breast fed are 1.5 times likely to have nut allergies.
Professor Marjan Kljakovic of ANU Medical School said that it is important to understand how feeding practices may be playing a part in peanut allergies, which account for two-thirds of all fatal food-induced allergic reactions.
Professor Kljakovic also noted that the results contribute to the argument that breast feeding alone does not appear to be protective against nut allergies in children – it may, in fact, cause allergies.
The results of the ANU study, which have been published in the latest International Journal of Pediatrics, are available onlice.
