The role of diet in primary allergy prevention Part 1: Current approaches

As asthma and allergic diseases reach epidemic proportions, there is an urgent need to identify logical early targets for interventions to reverse this trend. While this is likely to be multifactorial, dietary factors have been identified as important targets for allergy prevention. Early allergy prevention strategies largely focused on the diet as a major early source of allergen exposure, with an emphasis on "allergen avoidance". More recently, the diet has been recognised as an important source of immunomodulatory nutrients, which may favourably influence : immune development and prevent allergic disease. Here, we : examine the evidence, controversies and limitations of current food allergen avoidance strategies, and the need for alternative dietary approaches (including immunomodulatory fatty acids, antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics). Currently, our capacity to prevent allergic disease is constrained by limited understanding of disease pathogenesis and aetiological factors, particularly of the early exposures responsible for the recent increase in allergic disease.