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Tuesday 24 February 2015

Peanuts and at last benefits to being a flaky earth mother...

It was great news to hear on the news today that they have found that children eating just a few peanuts now and then when they are little stops them getting peanut allergies, and it makes sense in a non-medical-knowledge way that people have been woofing peanuts for centuries and so it had to be something a bit different than our bodies not being able to tolerate them.                
                When I was pregnant with our first, I was asked to be in the study that these results were based on. I was told that my peanut intake would be controlled into either a No Peanut Group, A Lots of Peanuts Group or a Few Peanuts Group. When my child was born I would continue this practice with the child until it was three and then it would be gauged to see whether it had a peanut allergy or not.
                  Now, usually I’m a bit of a Helpful Harry and tend to think everything is lovely and if I can do something to help, then no problem. I’m sure it was only because I lived in the wilds of Dorset that I didn’t volunteer for Let’s Find Someone Stupid to Be Given Ebola to See What Happens trials. However, in these first months of pregnancy, I had turned Official Earth Mother and decided to consult my womb.
            Luckily my womb said, But Lorraine, if your body decides that it needs to chew on scouring pads, then you need to be able to chew on scouring pads because it means that your body needs something within those pads (the soap, my partner would probably say). Therefore, I turned down the offer and stood back, munching on peanuts only when I consulted my womb and it decided I needed a peanut or two.
            The sad thing is, or course, that 18% of those children in the No Peanut category now have a peanut allergy. It is really sad to think that there might be some children now who are in danger simply because their mother declined the few peanuts she or her small child might otherwise have had.


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