Aggravation of atopic dermatitis in breast-fed infants by tree nut-related foods and fermented foods in breast milk.

Ninety-two exclusively breast-fed Japanese infants with atopic dermatitis were studied to see whether tree nut-related foods (chocolate and coffee) and fermented foods (cheese, yogurt, bread, soy sauce, miso soup and fermented soy beans) eaten by their mothers affected their skin condition. Of the 92 infants, 67 (73%) showed improvement of skin lesions when their mothers avoided these foods and showed aggravation of skin lesions when these foods were reintroduced. The predominant offending foods were chocolate, yogurt, soy sauce and miso soup. A long-term maternal exclusion of the trigger foods brought about progressive improvement of skin lesions in the majority of the infants. These findings suggest that tree nut-related foods and fermented foods are important offending foods of atopic dermatitis in breast-fed infants.