When I mention kids and nuts in the same sentence, some parents react like I’ve dropped the F-bomb, thanks to the association of nuts with two other F-words: fat and fear.

Parents sometimes avoid nuts due to claims they cause unwanted weight gain or trigger life-threatening allergies.

But nuts are good for kids – and avoiding them can do more harm than good.

The fats in nuts are healthy fats

Decades of exposure to the diet industry’s relentless low-fat marketing have led parents to believe that all fats are bad. But this isn’t the case.

Nuts are packed with fats, but it’s the healthy type: unsaturated fat. It supports heart and digestive health, and reduces inflammation.

Nuts provide essential nutrients children need for healthy growth, including the omega-3 fatty acids younger kids need for brain, nerve and vision development. They are also one of the richest sources of dietary polyphenols or antioxidants, which have a range of potential health benefits, including cancer prevention.

Nuts contain fibre, protein and good fats, which take longer to digest, satisfying kids’ hunger and making them feel fuller for longer. In fact, up to 20% of the energy in nuts isn’t absorbed, but still provides feelings of fullness.

The high fibre content also helps kids’ with regular and easier bowel movements.

This means nuts actually help manage kids’ weight, with research showing eating more nuts is linked to a lower risk of being overweight.

What about the allergy risk?

Nut allergies are becoming more common and understandably can cause parents great concern.

But research shows consuming nuts in appropriate forms from a young age can actually reduce the chance of having a nut allergy, including among those at high risk (such as when a family member has an allergy).

Another study found regularly feeding peanuts from infancy reduced the rate of peanut allergies in adolescence by 71%.

To reduce the risk of allergies, introduce nuts as early as possible to your child’s diet – ideally between four and six months – in the form of 100% nut spreads to prevent choking.

Start by smearing a small amount of 100% smooth peanut butter on the inside of the lip and monitor for 30 minutes. If there’s no reaction, double the quantity (¼ teaspoon) and monitor for another 30 minutes. You can then repeat this process increasing to ½ teaspoon.

If this goes well, you can include 100% nut butters in your child’s diet, increasing the amount offered weekly.

If you have a family history of allergies, introduce nuts in consultation with your GP. If your child does have a reaction, mild to moderate reactions can be treated using non-sedating antihistamines. If the child has any symptoms of anaphylaxis, call an ambulance immediately and treat them with an EpiPen if one is available.

What should you do?

Allowing kids to enjoy nuts – nature’s treats – helps keep unhealthy processed foods out of their diets.

There’s no need to limit them because kids are extremely good at regulating their calorie intake across the course of the day.

When nuts are no longer a choking hazard (between the age of three and five years), I’d suggest serving them a large handful every day. Before that, they can eat nuts as pastes or finely crushed and mixed into food to prevent choking.

Adults often avoid eating nuts themselves due to concerns about their high energy content, fearing they might lead to weight gain. However, research suggests this fear may be unfounded. Studies show even relatively large servings – up to 100 grams per day – are linked to modest reductions in body weight and fat mass.

While Australia’s current dietary guidelines recommend limiting intakes of nuts, this no longer reflects the evidence and should be revised when the guidelines are updated next year.

Take-home tips

Nuts are a powerhouse of nutrition, but getting kids to eat them can be a challenge.

All nut varieties offer health benefits, so include a mixture to keep things interesting. Choose raw or dry-roasted, unsalted options to avoid added oil and salt creeping into kids’ diets.

If they reject them the first time, try again. Research shows kids need eight to ten exposures before they willingly eat new foods. So offer them regularly, encourage tasting and don’t pressure them to eat.

To help incorporate more nuts into children’s snacks and meals, start with milder, more familiar varieties such as cashews, almonds, or peanuts. These tend to have a softer texture and sweeter flavour, making them more appealing to younger palates.

More robust or bitter varieties – such as walnuts, pecans or Brazil nuts – can be introduced gradually, mixed into other foods or baked into recipes to balance their stronger taste and firmer texture.

Nick Fuller is the author of Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids – Six Steps to Total Family Wellness. His free, practical recipe ideas, such as Easy Granola and Tahini Nut Bars, can be found at feedingfussykids.com.

Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Hay fever (also called allergic rhinitis) affects 24% of Australians. Symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose (which may feel blocked or stuffy) and itchy eyes. People can also experience an itchy nose, throat or ears.

But COVID is still spreading, and other viruses can cause cold-like symptoms. So how do you know which one you’ve got?

Remind me, how does hay fever cause symptoms?

Hay fever happens when a person has become “sensitised” to an allergen trigger. This means a person’s body is always primed to react to this trigger.

Triggers can include allergens in the air (such as pollen from trees, grasses and flowers), mould spores, animals or house dust mites which mostly live in people’s mattresses and bedding, and feed on shed skin.

When the body is exposed to the trigger, it produces IgE (immunoglobulin E) antibodies. These cause the release of many of the body’s own chemicals, including histamine, which result in hay fever symptoms.

People who have asthma may find their asthma symptoms (cough, wheeze, tight chest or trouble breathing) worsen when exposed to airborne allergens. Spring and sometimes into summer can be the worst time for people with grass, tree or flower allergies.

However, animal and house dust mite symptoms usually happen year-round.

What else might be causing my symptoms?

Hay fever does not cause a fever, sore throat, muscle aches and pains, weakness, loss of taste or smell, nor does it cause you to cough up mucus.

These symptoms are likely to be caused by a virus, such as COVID, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or a “cold” (often caused by rhinoviruses). These conditions can occur all year round, with some overlap of symptoms:

COVID still surrounds us. RSV and influenza rates appear higher than before the COVID pandemic, but it may be due to more testing.

So if you have a fever, sore throat, muscle aches/pains, weakness, fatigue, or are coughing up mucus, stay home and avoid mixing with others to limit transmission.

People with COVID symptoms can take a rapid antigen test (RAT), ideally when symptoms start, then isolate until symptoms disappear. One negative RAT alone can’t rule out COVID if symptoms are still present, so test again 24–48 hours after your initial test if symptoms persist.

You can now test yourself for COVID, RSV and influenza in a combined RAT. But again, a negative test doesn’t rule out the virus. If your symptoms continue, test again 24–48 hours after the previous test.

If it’s hay fever, how do I treat it?

Treatment involves blocking the body’s histamine release, by taking antihistamine medication which helps reduce the symptoms.

Doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists can develop a hay fever care plan. This may include using a nasal spray containing a topical corticosteroid to help reduce the swelling inside the nose, which causes stuffiness or blockage.

Nasal sprays need to delivered using correct technique and used over several weeks to work properly. Often these sprays can also help lessen the itchy eyes of hay fever.

Drying bed linen and pyjamas inside during spring can lessen symptoms, as can putting a smear of Vaseline in the nostrils when going outside. Pollen sticks to the Vaseline, and gently blowing your nose later removes it.

People with asthma should also have an asthma plan, created by their doctor or nurse practitioner, explaining how to adjust their asthma reliever and preventer medications in hay fever seasons or on allergen exposure.

People with asthma also need to be alert for thunderstorms, where pollens can burst into tinier particles, be inhaled deeper in the lungs and cause a severe asthma attack, and even death.

What if it’s COVID, RSV or the flu?

Australians aged 70 and over and others with underlying health conditions who test positive for COVID are eligible for antivirals to reduce their chance of severe illness.

Most other people with COVID, RSV and influenza will recover at home with rest, fluids and paracetamol to relieve symptoms. However some groups are at greater risk of serious illness and may require additional treatment or hospitalisation.

For RSV, this includes premature infants, babies 12 months and younger, children under two who have other medical conditions, adults over 75, people with heart and lung conditions, or health conditions that lessens the immune system response.

For influenza, people at higher risk of severe illness are pregnant women, Aboriginal people, people under five or over 65 years, or people with long-term medical conditions, such as kidney, heart, lung or liver disease, diabetes and decreased immunity.

If you’re concerned about severe symptoms of COVID, RSV or influenza, consult your doctor or call 000 in an emergency.

If your symptoms are mild but persist, and you’re not sure what’s causing them, book an appointment with your doctor or nurse practitioner. Although hay fever season is here, we need to avoid spreading other serious infectious.

For more information, you can call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria); use the online Symptom Checker; or visit healthdirect.gov.au or the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.

Deryn Thompson, Eczema and Allergy Nurse; Lecturer, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.