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A large Finnish study found that avocado consumption during pregnancy was linked to a 44% lower risk of food allergies in babies at one year, independent of other health and lifestyle factors. Study: Avocado consumption during pregnancy linked to lower child food allergy risk: prospective KuBiCo study . Image Credit: Cristina Indrie / Shutterstock The mother’s diet and other lifestyle factors in pregnancy affect the developing baby.
Avocado contains specific nutrients and bioactive compounds that may contribute to reducing the risk of future food allergies in the offspring. A recent study in the journal Pediatric Research assessed the effect of eating any avocado during pregnancy in terms of children’s risk for food allergy, compared with no avocado consumption. Introduction Avocado eaters had notably better diets: Participants consuming avocado averaged a diet quality score 6.
3 points higher (62.2 vs. 55.
9) on a 90-point scale, highlighting broader nutritional advantages. Food allergies affect almost one in every 13 children, according to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). Women who eat a lot of sweets and baked foods while pregnant may have children who are at higher risk for food allergies.
Similarly, a pro-inflammatory diet rich in junk food predisposes to asthma in the offspring. Conversely, allergic rhinitis, eczema, asthma, and wheezing were uncommon in children of mothers who ate more vegetables and yogurt or adhered to a Mediterranean Diet-like pattern in pregnancy. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables may account for this effect by modulating the developing immune system.
Meat products or processed meat are also linked to allergy-induced wheezing, while apple consumption reduces the risk of this condition. Total fruit consumption did not show such an association, perhaps because each fruit has a distinct composition of phytochemicals. The current prospective cohort study, for which three authors are affiliated with the Avocado Nutrition Center, Hass Avocado Board, though the study itself was funded by the Research Committee of the Kuopio University Hospital Catchment Area for the State Research Funding and The Foundation for Pediatric Research, explored how maternal avocado consumption in pregnancy benefited the offspring’s risk of food allergy.
One avocado yields approximately 13 g of monounsaturated fat and 9.5 g of dietary fiber, with its nutrient composition approximating that of the Mediterranean diet. While avocados generally contain nutrients that promote eye, neural tube, and heart development in the embryo, this specific study focused on allergic outcomes.
The data came from the Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) study, which included women who delivered their children between 2013 and 2022. The 2,272 participants included in the final analysis were representative of all women who delivered their children during this period. Their diet quality was estimated using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P) tool.
The participants were classified into two groups depending on whether or not they had any avocados during the first and third trimesters. Four allergic conditions (rhinitis, paroxysmal wheezing, atopic eczema, and food allergy) in the offspring were reported as yes/no responses. Study findings First-time mothers drove trends: Over 87% of avocado consumers were first-time or first-birth parents, contrasting with 80% in the non-consumer group, hinting at lifestyle differences between cohorts.
The average age of the women at delivery was approximately 31 years, with most having their first baby. The mean body mass index (BMI) was approximately 25 kg/m2. The average AHEI-P score was 59, indicating moderate diet quality.
Avocado consumers were older, less likely to undergo a Cesarean section (C-section), more likely to be non-smokers, and more likely to be nulliparous or primiparous (having had zero or one previous birth). They had a higher AHEI-P score. They also breastfed longer and had lower BMI.
At 12 months, the risk of food allergy was twofold in the children of non-consumers of avocado, at 4.2% vs 2.4% in those born to avocado consumers.
Among women who consumed avocados, offspring were at approximately 44% lower risk of food allergy at 12 months after compensating for multiple other risk factors. These included the mother’s age at delivery, education, BMI, number of previous deliveries, and infant-related factors like being in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or being born by C-section. Other confounding factors included breastfeeding, drinking and/or smoking in pregnancy, and diet quality.
In the crude analysis, paroxysmal wheezing affected 13.3% of the offspring of non-consumers vs. 9.
8% of those born to consumers. However, this difference waned significantly after adjusting for all factors likely to affect the outcome. Allergic rhinitis and eczema showed no significant difference with avocado consumption in the fully adjusted model.
Since these disorders may develop later, longer follow-up periods are required to capture these outcomes, unlike food allergies, which typically manifest at 6–12 months, when solid foods are begun. Avocado provides antioxidants that may help reduce a child's likelihood of developing allergies by altering T cell responses. The fiber content of avocado is also important.
It may favorably change the gut microbiome and promote beneficial gut fermentation, producing compounds like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that guide healthy immune maturation. Monounsaturated fats in avocado may also reduce unwanted immunological activity since they have been inversely related to asthma prevalence in adolescents and adults. However, these findings cannot prove that avocado consumption is responsible for the lower food allergy risk.
Conclusions The results of this pioneering study suggest, for the first time, that avocado consumption in pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of food allergy in the offspring at one year, after compensating for other risk factors. The results corroborate prior research showing that vegetarian and Mediterranean diet patterns protect against food allergies and other allergic outcomes. Legume and apple consumption were associated with lower allergy prevalence.
In some studies, maternal intake of peanuts and tree nuts has been associated with a lower risk of asthma. Some studies contradict these findings. Again, foods are very different in their bioactive and nutrient content.
“Overall, very little data exists to support specific food recommendations for maternal diets to impact allergies.” However, study author Sari Hantunen says, “There is no cure for food allergy. Based on these findings, it’s encouraging to know that eating avocados may provide even more value to maternal and children’s health.
” Cheng, F. W., Bauer, E.
, Ford, N. A., et al.
Avocado consumption during pregnancy linked to lower child food allergy risk: prospective KuBiCo study. Pediatric Research. doi: 10.
1038/s41390-025-03968-4, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-025-03968-4.
