Food allergies are becoming more prevalent and babies born today are at heightened risk. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), about 6 percent of children aged 2 and under have food allergies, and 1 in 13 children in the US affected.

Foods like peanuts, sesame, shellfish, tree nuts, fish, milk, soy, egg, wheat are widely known to cause allergies in babies. The fact is that a baby’s risk of developing common food allergies can actually be reduced by up to 80% through early and frequent exposure to allergenic foods based on Landmark studies.

EARLY INTRODUCTION

For babies as young as 4 months, parents can consider to feed their child daily and consistently (with continued breastfeeding) to help gently train their baby’s tummy to accept food as food, rather than as an allergen. Though breastfeeding imparts lots of benefits for mother and child, mothers ought to be informed that breastfeeding alone has not conclusively been proven to prevent food allergies.

DIVERSE DIET

Experts support diversifying babies’ diets to include the most commonly allergenic foods as mentioned above. Some ideas to tasty mixed foods include lightly toasted whole grain bread or crackers; wheat through pasta such as bowtie or rotini; salmon, tuna, or any white fish baked and flaked into tiny pieces or pureed with a little bit of breast milk or formula into baby’s favorite foods like sweet potatoes, squash, or any other veggies.

Parent can introduce tree nuts like almonds and hazelnuts to baby simply by mixing one of these nut flours into a puree food like applesauce or yogurt and feeding it to the baby; incorporating cow’s milk in baked goods, mixing tiny bits in a cereal, or feeding baby yogurt or soft cheeses. And for parents who wants to introduce soy to baby, you can offer an organic non-gmo tofu apart from the idea of blending a soft tofu in with baby’s favorite veggies.

As for peanut, allergist Ruchi Gupta from MD advise that it shouldn’t be the first food to introduce to child, and before introducing it parents should make sure first of all the child is healthy – he doesn’t have a cold, fever or anything else. And to introduce peanut, the simple good way is to mash a ripe banana with a small spoonful of peanut butter!

ROUTINE FEEDING PLAN

Feed a baby potential allergenic food few times per week through infancy and early childhood.

Resources:

https://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergy 

https://readysetfood.com/blogs/community/does-breastfeeding-prevent-food-allergies