A North Texas doctor helped spark an international discussion this week -- about peanut allergies.
Dr. Rebecca Gruchalla is the head of allergy and immunology at UT Southwestern in Dallas. She co-wrote a piece for the New England Journal of Medicine that could turn advice to young parents on its ear.
Interview Highlights: Dr. Rebecca Gruchalla...
...On what a new study out of Britain showed: "When peanut was introduced early, the children in the consumption group [meaning they ate peanut protein as early as four months old] had a markedly decreased rate of peanut allergy compared to those that avoided peanut -- 1.9 percent in the consumption group versus 13.7 percent in the avoidance group."
...On using words like "compelling" and "alarming" about the study results: "I knew that there would be media attention, but not to this extent. But I think it's actually a good thing, because those are strong words but the data is indeed so compelling that I think those words are definitely warranted and not over the top."
...On what she'd tell a new mom right now: "If the child has no history of allergy, there's no allergy in the family, then peanut protein can be introduced along with other foods [as early as 4 months old]."
