3 QUESTIONS ON PREVENTION OF FOOD ALLERGY

There is some evidence that prevention of allergic disease should be considered in neonates at high risk for atopy and that the mode of early infant feeding has significance in the development of adverse reactions to foods. Infancy appears to be the most vulnerable period with regard to allergy and atopic disease, as this is the time of life when sensitization occurs and the appearance of symptoms later on is determined. Atopy is likely to be genetically transmitted with a dominant form of inheritance and offsprings from allergic parents are at higher risk. In these infants efforts should be made to prevent or at least postpone the development of allergic disease. The mother's diet during pregnancy appears to have no significant influence on the development of food allergy in children. Breast feeding (especially if in association with elimination of the major food allergens from the mother's diet during lactation) seems to reduce the risk of food allergy, at least temporarily. Late introduction of food other than breast milk into the diet may reduce this risk even further. Feeding hydrolyzed milk-based formulas may be an alternative if breast feeding is impossible. The effect of complex preventive programs including elimination of food and airborne allergens and pollutants needs further evaluation.