There seems to be a lot of confusion about when to introduce food allergens in babies’ diets during weaning. I do not blame parents, as this is a very confusing area and there is a lot of conflicting advice around. I am going to focus today on the general population, not on babies with an atopic background (meaning babies that have eczema, or a strong immediate family history of allergies – asthma, hayfever, eczema) or those with existing food allergies. I will write a blog entry about that particular population later.
Although the main focus has been on peanuts and the introduction of this in babies diets, there are many more allergens to introduce during early childhood including, wheat, egg, cow’s milk, shellfish, soya, sesame and tree nuts. In a previous blog entry, I have debated the age of solid introduction, so will not repeat this in this section. Once you have started with solid introduction, which should not be later than 6 months of age, there is absolutely no evidence to delay any of the allergens. Although it’s pretty easy to introduce milk (yoghurt, cheese) and wheat, a lot of parents get stuck there and do not move on with other allergen introductions as this is either not part of their normal diet (i.e. common feedback about shellfish) or they think it is not appropriate for a child to eat. Egg is a great protein source and as long as its well-cooked, should be introduced as part of your baby’s diet (together with other allergens) soon after weaning is commenced. Nut butters (peanut butter and other tree nut butters) are also very nutritious and you can find sugar and salt free versions from many shops. This can be incorporated in the porridge in the morning, on a toast soldier or many of my children have this on a spoon and lick it off as a snack – again this should be earlier rather than later (soon after weaning has been commence). In regards to soya, most common comment I get is that families do not eat soya products. Well, I would challenge you to start looking at the ingredients of foods! Did you realise that 80% of standard breads in the UK contain soya, so this would be an automatic introduction of soya in a child’s diet if they have bread. Sesame also is an easy one to introduce as the majority of my parents at some point provide hummus, which contains tahini (sesame paste). Lastly the question about shellfish – I know this is not a common one to introduce in children’s diet and can be tricky in regards to sourcing safe and good quality. My advice would be, if you have this in your family’s diet, introduce earlier rather than later.
Last tip, once you have introduced an allergen successfully, do keep it in your child’s diet on a regular basis, to ensure that tolerance is maintained.