Although food allergies affect only a small percentage of children — about 4-8 per cent under the age of 5 — the concern for families today is that the number of children developing food allergies, is continuing to rise.
It’s not just the children of people who have allergies who are developing them, it’s also children with no allergic history in their family. But the research shows there are ways to help prevent the development of food allergies.
Allergy experts from around the world now advise that early introduction of the common food allergens (allergy causing foods) to children between the ages of 6 and 12 months may greatly reduce the risk of them developing an allergy to those foods.
If you don’t think of it consciously, it’s easy for the first 12 months of your child’s life to pass by without you introducing the common food allergens.
In We Can All Eat That! we show you when, how and why to introduce these foods!
Fortunately, nearly two-thirds of children with food allergies outgrow them by 4 to 6 years of age. The common food allergies that children are most likely to outgrow are egg, cow‘s milk, wheat and soy. Children are less likely to grow out of peanut and tree-nut allergies. Why do we outgrow food allergies? Some experts believe that tolerance to some food allergens may develop as a child is exposed to very low levels of the allergen over time. We need more research to find the answers.
Donate to Support Allergy Research
To support much needed research and education into Food Allergy & Intolerance please donate to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Velencia Soutter Memorial fund. Click the Donate button below, then in the option for “please direct my donation to” choose “Velencia Soutter Memorial Fund”.
Dr Velencia Soutter was one of Australia’s leading Paediatric Allergists. Research into Food Allergies and Intolerances continues today at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit.