Would You/did You Eat Peanuts?

[alamaz]

I've been reading that you should avoid peanuts during pregnancy to help prevent a peanut allergy in a child esp. if the mom has food allergies. I don't have a nut allergy, and no one in my family does either but of course there is the celiac, soy and casein allergies. I have a recipe for peanut butter chocolate balls that I've been craving and can't decide if I should risk it or not..... I am eating nuts on occassion, like Lara Bars, handful of almonds, nut butters in my smoothies but no peanut butter. What do you all think?

Amy

[allthingsintime]

if there are no peanut allergies in your or your partner's families peanuts in pregnancy pose no real risk. However if you're nervous then make the peanut butter balls with almond butter or a nut better that yoiu're comfotable with and already using anyway. It should satisfy the craving and the concerns

[darlindeb25]

Well, I am a celiac, my sister is a celiac, and our dad. We all enjoy our peanut butter, especially my dad and me. My sister never was much of a nut fan, but my dad and I always ate them. He has diverticulitis now and has to stay away from them, and I find peanuts themselves do bother me some, but peanut butter has remained a staple for me my entire life. I have five kids and never, ever did I not eat my peanut butter, so I would say, that's not true if you are a family that does not tend to have peanut allergies.

[buffettbride]

I didn't explicitly avoid it, but I don't remember eating it in abundance when I was pregnant. I had major food issues when I was preggers. With my son, who is almost 4, I couldn't eat warm food. I would only eat cold food like cold cuts, fudgecicles, pudding.

With my daughter who is 10, I just ate strawberries.

[maryjoali]

I was told that peanut butter in moderation was a very good food during pregnancy since it is high in protein. Geez...if I tried not to eat any of the major allergen foods, I wouldn't be eating!! As it is, I am having difficulty gaining weight! I'd say enjoy those peanut butter balls!

[celiac-mommy]

Jars and jars and jars of PB saved me thru my pregnancy with my DD. Had I not eaten it by the spoonful, I would have gotten sick--it was the only thing I wanted/craved. There are no nut allergies in my family, my Dr. wasn't concerned. DD has no nut sensitivities, but doesn't really care much for PB now

[April in KC]

Hi Amy - I have a little different perspective because I have a son with a severe peanut allergy and Celiac disease. The peanut allergy is so scary, as it started out with just mild reactions and the last one was anaphylactic. I did eat PB when pregnant with him, and while nursing.

No one in my family had nut or food allergies - however I had undiagnosed Celiac when I was pregnant with him, and I have no idea whether it is related.

I do a ton of reading on the rise of severe food allergies (LTFA or life-threatening food allergies) in kids - and here's what I think. If anyone in you or your husband's family has any of the following things, I would avoid peanut butter during pregnancy. The things are:

* Food allergies

* Eczema (atopic dermatitis)

* Drug allergies that caused hives

* Asthma

All of the above are common in families that are "atopic." For example, my uncles both had asthma as children, and I was allergic to penicillin. Both of those things are clues that we are an atopic family. Research has been showing that atopic families are the ones whose children have had a much higher chance of developing severe food allergies in the past decade. If none of those things describe your family, you probably have little to worry about.

Best of luck! I know I also craved PB a TON when I was pregnant - it's probably the protein.

[DonnaD777-777]

I've been reading that you should avoid peanuts during pregnancy to help prevent a peanut allergy in a child esp. if the mom has food allergies. I don't have a nut allergy, and no one in my family does either but of course there is the celiac, soy and casein allergies. I have a recipe for peanut butter chocolate balls that I've been craving and can't decide if I should risk it or not..... I am eating nuts on occassion, like Lara Bars, handful of almonds, nut butters in my smoothies but no peanut butter. What do you all think?

Amy

I'm 10 weeks and crave peanut butter all the time... I had gluten free waffles and peanut butter for dinner the other night and i like to use the light brown rice bread and grill peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. THe peanut butter balls sound good, would you share the recipe.

[pixiegirl]

I come at this from the same direction as April, my daughter has a life threatening allergy to peanuts.

And I did eat peanut butter not only thru my pregnancy but all my life, I use to love the stuff (needless to say we now don't have any in our home nor do I ever eat it).

In my family there are no food allergies. However my daughter was born with severe food allergies, soy, wheat, dairy... tons of them and since I was nursing her we found that if I even ate a tiny bit of those foods she would react, so I cut them out of my diet when she was 4 months old.

At about 3 years old she had outgrown most of her food allergies (except for peanuts and tree nuts) and so we both began eating regular food. Back then I didn't know I had Celiac and for those few years felt pretty good. I didn't realize at the time it was because I wasn't eating any gluten, it took 11 long years to figure that out.

Now my daughter can't have gluten either.

However, it was just the other day I read in the paper that after more exhaustive research (so they say) researchers could not link a peanut allergy to the mother consuming peanuts during pregnancy, so who knows.

Susan

[kbtoyssni]

I have no idea about eating peanuts during pregnancy, but sunflower seed butter tastes nearly identical to peanut butter and you can find it in regular grocery stores.