Growing research has shown that a mother’s diet can help protect newborns against food allergies. A study published today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine offers evidence that eating a diet that includes potential allergens while breastfeeding can promote tolerance through release of antibody-protein complexes in milk.
For the study, mice were exposed to egg protein and offspring were tested for sensitization. Mice that received breast milk from mothers that had been exposed to the egg protein were sensitized to it. This held true whether the milk was from their birth mother or from another mother, even if their birth mother had not been exposed to the egg protein while pregnant. Mice whose mothers were exposed to egg protein while their mothers were pregnant, but not while breastfeeding, had insignificant protection against the allergy. Protection was strongest when the milk was from birth mothers who were also exposed to egg protein when pregnant.
"This elegantly designed and controlled study shows that mothers should feel free to eat a healthy and diverse diet throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding," said Dr. James R. Baker, Jr., Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) CEO and Chief Medical Officer.
Looking into how this protection was conferred, the researchers found that milk from a nursing mother exposed to a food protein contains complexes of antibodies and that food protein. The protein is taken up by the newborn and introduced to their developing immune system, triggering production of protective cells that suppress allergic reaction. This immunity persists after the mother’s antibodies are gone, promoting long-term tolerance.
The research team is now recruiting mothers for human trials of this type of protection against peanut allergies.