Science Friday Peanut Allergies In Kids Are Finally On The Decline
Oct 28, 2025
Dr. Sharon Chinthrajah, a renowned physician specializing in allergy and immunology at Stanford's Sean N. Parker Center, discusses the exciting decline in peanut allergies among young children. She shares insights on how new guidelines recommending early exposure to peanuts have contributed to this trend. The conversation explores immune training, the science behind why peanuts trigger allergies, and links to other food allergens. With a focus on progress and future treatments, Dr. Chinthrajah brings hope to parents navigating dietary challenges.
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Early Peanut Introduction Reduced Allergies
- Introducing peanut early into infants' diets correlates with a large drop in diagnosed peanut allergies.
- The 2017 NIAID guideline change to “early and often” appears linked to this decline in prevalence.
The Bamba Discovery
- Gideon Lack observed near-zero peanut allergy in Israeli Jewish babies who ate peanut Bamba.
- He connected the low allergy rates to babies eating melt-in-mouth peanut puffs early in life.
Introduce Peanut Early And Often
- Introduce peanut as early as four months and keep it in the diet to lower allergy risk.
- Regular early exposure reduced risk of peanut allergy at age five by about 80%.