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Rachel Belmont of Mexico City, Mexico, asks:
Is it true that the longer you breast-feed your child, the less likely they are to develop allergies to food and other substances? What medical evidence exists to prove or disprove that old-wives tale?
Allergy and asthma specialist Dr. John Winder responds:
Yes, breast feeding has been shown to confer protection from developing
allergies down the road for offspring of allergic parents. Several years ago
Dr. Robert Hamburger of the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California published
a study about highly allergic couples and prevention of allergies in their
children. He showed that dietary avoidance (of strong food allergens) by the
pregnant mom combined with subsequent dietary ( egg whites, peanuts and cow's
milk) and environmental (dust mites and pets) avoidance in the breast-fed
babies cut their odds dramatically for the development of allergies.
You
might try calling the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's 800
number (800-842-7777) and ask if they could give you the reference....Good
luck.
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