Children who eat peanut snacks regularly from four to six months onwards 71% less likely to have peanut allergy at 13, research finds

Feeding children peanut products from infancy until the age of five cuts their risk of developing a peanut allergy into early adolescence, researchers say.

Children who ate peanut pastes or puffed peanut snacks regularly from four to six months onwards were 71% less likely to have a peanut allergy at age 13 than those who avoided peanuts, pointing to a long-lasting effect of early peanut consumption.

I didn’t expect my lips to swell and blister when I bit into a croissant – but pea protein is suddenly appearing everywhere

My last brush with mortality came in April, at a branch of Starbucks. Finding myself running early for a meeting, I took the chance to pop in for my usual: a latte and a ham-and-cheese croissant. As I waited for the barista to pour my coffee, I took a nibble of the pastry. Within a minute, my lower lip was swollen and blistering.

I checked the ingredients list. Though I’d ordered this very same item about once a month for years, I knew what was coming: this croissant now contained peas.

Hannah Fearn is a freelancer writer and reporter specialising in social affairs