The American Academy of Pediatrics is updating earlier suggestions for the prevention of allergies in infants and children by saying that abstaining from certain foods during pregnancy does not ensure an allergy-free child.

In 2000, the organization advised mothers with a family history of allergies to avoid consuming cow's milk, eggs, fish, peanuts and tree nuts while breast-feeding their babies. The AAP also provided mothers with a recommended schedule for introducing certain risky foods (no solid foods before 6 months of age, no dairy products before the age of 1, no eggs before the age of 2, etc).

A new guidance reports is available now though, which reevaluates recommendations made seven years ago. It is published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

While previous advice on restrictions from both the mothers and the babies’ diets has been removed, breast-feeding is still highly recommended.

The report says that there is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child's risk of allergies, reports the Associated Press.

As opposed to the advice given seven years ago, that a hypoallergenic or soy milk formula should be used with infants at risk of developing allergies, the current guideline says there is no good evidence that soy-based formulas prevent allergies.

The new recommendations add that convincing evidence is also lacking to support the delay of introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children in an effort to prevent allergies.

However, solid food should not be fed to babies before 4 to 6 months of age.

The AAP still strongly advises mothers to breast-feed, noting that exclusive breast-feeding for at least four months in babies with a family history of allergies can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow's milk.

The organization also says exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months has been shown to protect against wheezing in babies; it is not clear yet whether it prevents asthma in older children.

Dr. Scott Sicherer of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Jaffe Food Allergy Institute in New York, who helped write the new guideline, was quoted by the AP as saying: “You never know what's going to come around the corner, but in the past seven years there hasn't been enough evidence to support the old recommendations.”