"How To Safely Introduce Your Baby To Peanuts And Other Food Allergens" -Brian Mastroianni
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that four to six percent of all children in the United States have a food allergy; this is when the body has an adverse immune response to specific foods. While allergic reactions are typically mild, there’s reason for parents to be worried, as some reactions can be severe and life-threatening. Exposing babies to allergenic foods at an early age could help sidestep parental concerns, especially down the line when their kids have to navigate the food options at the school lunch table. A study published this year looked at the impact parents’ behaviors could have on their kid’s food allergies. The researchers out of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai studied 100 parents of children between the ages of six months and 18 years. These children had all been diagnosed with food allergies. The researchers found a link between the parents’ risky behaviors and their kids having an allergic reaction, with 72 percent of the children in the survey experiencing at least one allergic reaction, and 38 percent experienced three or more over the survey year.
- The Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai