--- title: Prevent Peanut Allergies by Giving Kids Peanuts, Doctors Say description: The advice may seem counterintuitive but research shows that it significantly reduces future incidences of peanut allergies. canonical: https://time.com/4018551/peanut-allergies-prevention/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-01T15:08:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:58.985Z article:section: Health og:title: To Fight a Future Peanut Allergy, Feed Kids Peanuts og:description: The advice might seem counterintuitive, but rates fell 81% when families did this og:url: https://time.com/4018551/peanut-allergies-prevention/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: To Fight a Future Peanut Allergy, Feed Kids Peanuts twitter:description: The advice might seem counterintuitive, but rates fell 81% when families did this twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Prevent Peanut Allergies by Giving Kids Peanuts, Doctors Say > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Should I Eat Almond Butter? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Almond Butter?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/78VnTN9O.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2015-08-19. All five of our experts say yes to almond butter._  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Sep 1, 2015 3:08 PM UTC  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Sep 1, 2015 3:08 PM UTC The American Academy of Pediatrics has some advice for parents trying to prevent their kids from developing peanut allergies: Give them peanuts. As counterintuitive as it may seem, [new research](http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2015/Pages/LEAP.aspx) from the National Institutes of Health indicates that putting peanuts out of reach of children actually could make an eventual problem worse, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a [statement](https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Joins-in-Interim-Guidance-on-Introduction-of-Peanuts-for-High-Risk-Infants.aspx). The group suggested that health care providers could recommend peanut-containing products to children between the ages of 4 and 11 months, particularly those with severe eczema or egg allergies. Because peanuts can be a choking hazard, the [AAP suggests](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/allergies-asthma/Pages/Peanut-Allergies-What-You-Should-Know-About-the-Latest-Research.aspx) creamy peanut butter for infants, carefully graduating to peanuts in their whole form around age 4. About 5% of American children have a peanut allergy, which is higher than worldwide rates of between 1% and 3%. There’s also research suggesting a recent spike of kids with peanut allergies in the U.S., with many experts suggesting that in the past decade alone, rates might have even tripled. The NIH’s study, released in February, noted that introduction of peanut products in high-risk infants was safe and that doing so led to a remarkable 81% decreased risk in developing a peanut allergy later. **Read Next**: [_The Surprising Way to Treat Peanut Allergies_ ](http://time.com/3719341/peanut-allergy-cure-treatment/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] All five of our experts are nuts for almond butter. A standard, two tablespoon serving of almond, butter has a hundred and ninety- six calories, seven grams of protein, and a whole bunch of fat. That's just fine with Kristin Kirkpatrick who says the lack of carbs and an abundance of protein and healthy fat make almond butter a dieter's best friend. It's a good source of fiber too. Most of us fall far short in the fiber department and a serving packs an impressive 3. 3 grams of fiber about 13 % of the FDA's daily recommended total. Keri Gans recommends Recommend spooning some into your morning smoothie or a bowl of oatmeal. But David Katz warns that you should buy the kind that's made from just nuts. Additions of salt, sugar and oils can make the butter less healthy. Research continues to mount that a diet that contains nuts may help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. [ MUSIC ] Research by David Jenkins suggest that the more nuts you eat the lower your cholesterol. However, almonds don't have a great environmental reputation. Growing almonds requires a lot of water, as much as one gallon per nut. But David Zetland says that forfeiting almonds isn't the solution. Taking better care of our environment as a whole will allow us all to keep snacking on these delicious and healthy nuts. 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