For years, parents were warned to keep peanuts away from young children to prevent allergies. But new research suggests the opposite: that early exposure can reduce the risk.
In Israel, where infants commonly eat the peanut snack Bamba, peanut allergies are drastically less common than in Western countries. Scientists now believe this everyday snack may help explain why.
Bamba is more than just a snack in Israel—it is a staple of childhood. Osem’s peanut-butter-flavored puffed corn treat is easy to eat and commonly introduced to infants and toddlers.
“I grew up eating Bamba as a kid—it was always around the house. Because it was such a normal snack for me growing up, it definitely influenced how I fed my own kids,” said Sagi Gur, husband of GOA Hebrew teacher Morah Gur. “I felt comfortable giving it to them early on, and it became one of their first snacks, too. It’s familiar, easy and they love it just like I did.”
Since Bamba is popularly consumed at a young age, many Israeli children are exposed to peanuts early in life—something researchers now believe may play a key role in lowering allergy rates in other countries.
Building on this pattern, researchers began investigating why peanut allergies were far more common in countries like the United Kingdom compared to Israel, despite sharing similar genetic backgrounds among Jewish children.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine followed 640 infants between the ages of 4 and 11 months old, who were at high risk for developing peanut allergies.
The infants were given skin prick tests to measure sensitivity to peanuts, then divided into two groups: one that regularly consumed peanut products, like Bamba, and one that avoided them entirely.
By age five, about 17 percent of the children who avoided peanuts then developed allergies, compared to only 3 percent of those who consumed them. This represents a considerable risk reduction, according to CNN Health, which reported on the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study.
Scientists ultimately found that early exposure to peanuts reduced the risk of developing a peanut allergy by over 75 percent. In some cases, children who initially displayed sensitivity no longer reacted later on.
The findings challenged long-standing medical advice and drew attention from scientists worldwide.
Reflecting on the results, Dr. Sagie Brodsky and Dr. Elee Shimshoni of Little, Big Science wrote, “Slackers, give yourselves a pat on the back for giving your children Bamba…You may have prevented your children from developing a peanut allergy,” emphasizing that an everyday snack such as Bamba can possess unexpected health benefits.
For many Israeli families, this research simply confirms what they have already observed.
Israeli mother and GOA parent Ariella Rosansky said, “When we moved out of Israel to the US, so many kids have peanut allergies. You just don’t see that in Israel.”
She attributes this difference to the widespread consumption of peanut snacks like Bamba at a young age.
“As a parent, Bamba was always the easy choice,” Ariella added, “It’s soft, low in sugar and perfect for toddlers.”
Her daughter, GOA alumna Shira Ashkenazi, mirrored this experience: “Bamba was my favorite snack growing up, and I think because I started eating it so young, I never developed a peanut allergy.”
Peanut allergies affect roughly 2 percent of people in many Western countries and can lead to severe, sometimes life-threatening reactions. As rates have risen in recent decades, studies like these have begun to reshape how doctors view prevention, shifting away from avoidance and toward early exposure.
What was once considered a simple snack has become part of a much larger conversation about global health. In Israel, Bamba represents more than just a cultural staple; it offers a powerful example of how everyday habits can influence long-term health.
As research continues, early peanut exposure may play a key role in reducing allergies worldwide.
