{"id":45106,"date":"2025-11-21T14:09:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.incredibleegg.org\/?post_type=nutrition_article&#038;p=45106"},"modified":"2025-11-21T14:09:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:09:38","slug":"the-what-when-and-how-of-reducing-food-allergy-risk-a-health-practitioners-guide","status":"publish","type":"nutrition_article","link":"https:\/\/www.incredibleegg.org\/nutrition\/articles\/the-what-when-and-how-of-reducing-food-allergy-risk-a-health-practitioners-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The What, When, and How of Reducing Food Allergy Risk: A Health Practitioners\u2019 Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>It is estimated that up to 8% of children may have a food allergy.<sup>1<\/sup> Some children will outgrow their food allergy, but others will have food allergies for a lifetime. Fortunately, research shows that early introduction of peanut and egg may significantly reduce the risk of developing an allergy to each of these foods.<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>What Does the Science Say?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>The LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergies) study showed that early introduction of peanut foods, starting around 4-6 months, may reduce peanut allergies by up to 86%.<sup>3<\/sup> The EAT (Enquiring About Tolerance) study showed that introducing six common allergens to babies with no known risk was safe and, in babies who were fed according to the recommended intervention (per protocol), risk of developing peanut and egg allergies was reduced.<sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>What are the Generally Accepted Risk Factors for Developing Food Allergies?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Severe eczema<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Existing food allergy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family history of atopy (e.g. atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy, etc.). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>If your patient\/client has any of these risk factors, refer to pediatrician or allergist to begin introduction of potential allergens, especially peanut, between 4-6 months. <sup>3,7<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>When Should Parents and Caregivers Introduce Potential Food Allergens?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>The NIAID recommends introducing peanut foods around 4-6 months, based on individual risk.<sup>5<\/sup> Babies with the aforementioned risk factors may require pre-screening or an in-office first introduction. All other potential allergens should be introduced around 6 months of age, depending on a child\u2019s specific risk factors. Evidence does not support withholding allergens to prevent food allergies.<sup>2,6<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>How Should Potential Food Allergens Be Fed to Infants?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>All foods should be fed to a baby in a form appropriate to their development and under caregiver supervision.<sup>2<\/sup> Purees, thinned pastes, and well-cooked and soft forms are just a few ways to easily introduce any food. Once successfully introduced, potential allergens should continue to be fed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>Tips for Introduction<\/strong><sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feed when baby is healthy with no fever or signs of illness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introduce new foods early in the day before a nap, so you can observe for 2 hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wait 2 to 3 days between introducing a new potential allergen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Try a small amount of food on the tip of a spoon. Wait 10 minutes and feed more if there are no signs of a reaction with the goal of 2 teaspoons of the allergen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop feeding baby and seek medical care if signs of a reaction are seen: hives, vomiting, coughing, swelling of the mouth, wheezing, lethargy. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>Early Introduction: What&#8217;s on the Menu?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>Here are some ideas for safely feeding baby:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Peanut butter thinned with breastmilk or formula<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mashed, cooked egg yolk with infant cereal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Baked muffin with egg and peanut butter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once baby has successfully enjoyed peanut and egg separately, check out these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.incredibleegg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/EggPeanutRecipesFinal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">four simple recipes to introduce eggs and peanut butter to infants<\/a>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p><strong>Where Can I Learn More about Introducing Potential Allergens?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>For introducing all allergens: babysfirst.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block\">\n<p>To easily share information with your patients and clients, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.incredibleegg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Food-Allergy-Parent-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Food Allergy Parent Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"references-block-block_c54db8840e028d196e63828eb0c50a87\" class=\"content-block references-block \">\n\n  <h3><a class=\"references__toggle\" aria-controls=\"references--block_c54db8840e028d196e63828eb0c50a87\" aria-expanded=\"false\" href=\"#\">References<\/a><\/h3>\n  \n  <div class=\"references__ol text-block\" id=\"references--block_c54db8840e028d196e63828eb0c50a87\"><p>1. Gupta RS et al. Pediatrics 2018 142(6):e20181235<br \/>\n2. Greer FR et al. Pediatrics 2019;143(4):320190281<br \/>\n3. Du Toit G, N Engl J Med. 2015;372:803-813.<br \/>\n4. Perkin M, et al. N Engl J Med. 2016;374:1733-1743.<br \/>\n5. NIAID Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy<br \/>\nin the U.S. 2018. Appendix D<br \/>\n6. Obbagy et al. Am J clin Nutr 2019;109(Suppl):890S-934S.<br \/>\n7. Perkin et al J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019; 144 (6)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is estimated that up to 8% of children may have a food allergy.1 Some children will outgrow their food allergy, but others will have food allergies for a lifetime. Fortunately, research shows that early introduction of peanut and egg may significantly reduce the risk of developing an allergy to each of these foods.2 What [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":37488,"template":"","nutrition_article_tag":[31],"class_list":["post-45106","nutrition_article","type-nutrition_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","nutrition_article_tag-egg-allergies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The What, When, and How of Reducing Food Allergy Risk: A Health Practitioners\u2019 Guide - American Egg Board<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.incredibleegg.org\/nutrition\/articles\/the-what-when-and-how-of-reducing-food-allergy-risk-a-health-practitioners-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The What, When, and How of Reducing Food Allergy Risk: A Health Practitioners\u2019 Guide - American Egg Board\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is estimated that up to 8% of children may have a food allergy.1 Some children will outgrow their food allergy, but others will have food allergies for a lifetime. 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