March 20, 2023
Dr. Sonja Burmeister, Food Allergy Mom, Doctorate and Professor of Occupational Therapy specializing in Pediatrics, Physicians Assistant, Certified in Early Intervention (OTD, MSPA-C, OTR/L, EICP-OT)
We all want to keep our babies safe and set them up for a lifetime of health and happiness. So what can we do to help our babies avoid developing potentially life threatening food allergies? The good news is that a recent scientific study has researched and published results exactly on that topic.
The study which was published in Lancet looked at whether giving babies allergenic foods early on reduced their risk of developing food allergies. The study was done in Norway and Sweden and involved over 2,000 babies who were randomly assigned to one of four groups: no intervention, skin cream intervention, early food introduction, or a combination of skin cream and early food introduction. The researchers found that giving babies allergenic foods from 3 months of age reduced their risk of developing food allergies at 36 months old. They also found that applying skin cream did not significantly reduce the risk of food allergies. The study suggests that introducing common allergenic foods early on, as advised by a Pediatrician, is a safe and effective way to prevent food allergies in babies.
Source: Skjerven HO, Lie A, Vettukattil R, Rehbinder EM, LeBlanc M, Asarnoj A, Carlsen KH, Despriee ÅW, Färdig M, Gerdin SW, Granum B, Gudmundsdóttir HK, Haugen G, Hedlin G, Håland G, Jonassen CM, Landrø L, Mägi CAO, Olsen IC, Rudi K, et al. Early food intervention and skin emollients to prevent food allergy in young children (PreventADALL): a factorial, multicentre, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2022 Jun 25;399(10344):2398-2411. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00556-4. PMID: 35454897.
#foodallergies #babies #pediatrician #healthyeating