Leading Medical Organizations Recommend Introducing Allergens For Every Baby
Breakthrough research has revealed that feeding allergens early and often can help prevent food allergies in babies and as a result, leading health organizations have issued new guidelines recommending early allergen introduction.
“Introduce infants to potentially allergenic foods”
- USDA, 2020
Recommended
Age: 4-11 M
Allergens: Peanut, egg, cow milk products, tree nut, wheat, crustacean shellfish, fish, and soy
"To prevent peanut and/or egg allergy, peanut and egg should be introduced around [4-6] months of life"
- AAAAI, ACAAI, & CSACI*, 2020
Recommended
Age: 4-6 M
Allergens: Peanut, Egg
“There is now evidence that early introduction of peanuts may prevent peanut allergy”
- American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019
Recommended
Age: 4-10M
Allergens: Peanut
“Introducing foods containing ground peanuts between 4 and 10 months of age and continuing consumption may reduce the risk of developing peanut allergy by 5 years of age”
- US Food & Drug Administration, 2017
Recommended
Age: 4-10M
Allergens: Peanut
“Early introduction of peanut will result in the prevention of peanut allergy in a large number of infants”
- National Institutes of Health, 2017
Recommended
Age: 4-6M
Allergens: Peanut
*The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI)
Breakthrough research reveals food allergies can be prevented with early allergen introduction
L.E.A.P STUDY
Learning Early about Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Study
Starting at 4 months of age
Duration of exposure 4 years
6 g peanut protein per week
Over 600 children between 4 and 11 months of age are at high risk for peanut allergy were randomized to either consume or avoid peanut until age 5 in order to compare the incidence of peanut allergy between two groups.
E.A.T STUDY
Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) Study
Starting at 3 months of age
Duration of exposure 3 months
4 g peanut, egg, milk protein per week
1,300 3-month-old babies that represented the general population (no risk factors) were randomized to either consume or avoid peanut, cooked egg, cow’s milk, sesame, white fish, and wheat until age 3, in order to measure early introduction’s effectiveness on various potential food allergens. Measurement occurred every 3 months.
P.E.T.I.T STUDY
Prevention of Egg Allergy in High-Risk Infants with Eczema Study
Starting at 4 months of age
Duration of exposure 6 months
250 mg egg protein per week (after gradual introduction using 50 mg egg protein per week)
147 children between 4 and 5 months of age with atopic dermatitis (eczema) were randomized to either consume or avoid egg for 6 months, in order to determine if step-wise (low to high dose) early allergen introduction is an effective method of lowering the risk of food allergy development.
Recent guidelines have reversed the rise of food allergies
Hospitalization Rates for Severe Allergic Reactions
New research reveals recent impact of food allergy prevention guidelines
Findings from a 2022 Australian study reveal that updated guidelines encouraging early allergen introduction have helped slow food allergy hospitalization rates in Australian children. This research "provided for the first time the highest-level evidence that earlier introduction could prevent food allergy", as the study author Dr. Mimi Tang explained.
Based on findings from this study, the impact of new early allergen introduction recommendations helped flatten the curve of rising anaphylaxis-related hospital admissions.