Guidelines for Introducing Highly Allergenic Foods

Food allergies cannot be cured, but they can be prevented. Pediatricians and primary care providers have a responsibility to help prevent and detect food allergies so children can grow and develop into healthy eaters who tolerate and enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods. This course helps you apply current recommendations for introducing highly allergenic foods into infants’ diets with the goal of improving immune tolerance.

Choose any section below to learn more.

Childhood Food Allergies and the Role of Early Diet

Addressing Food Allergies: The Role of Texas Health Steps Providers

Recommendations for Introducing Highly Allergenic Foods

References

Alakhras, N. S. Shin, J., Smith, S. A., Sinn, A. L., Zhang, W., Hwang, G., . . . Kapla, M. H. (2023). Peanut allergen inhibition prevents anaphylaxis in a humanized mouse model. Science Translational Medicine, 15(682).

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2023). Patient Care: Infant Food and Feeding.

American Academy of Pediatrics, healthychildren.org. (2022). Starting Solid Foods.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2021). Patient Education: Food Allergies and Your Child.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2019). Clinical Report: The Effects of Early Nutritional Interventions on the Development of Atopic Disease in Infants and Children: The Role of Maternal Dietary Restriction, Breastfeeding, Hydrolyzed Formulas, and Timing of Introduction of Allergenic Complementary Foods. Pediatrics, 143 (4): e20190281

Bass, P. F. (2021). New evidence changes guidelines for food allergies. Contemporary Pediatrics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Food Allergies.

Children’s Hospital of California, University of Irvine. (2015). Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Referral Guidelines.

Godwin, L., Sinawe, H., & Crane, J. S. (2022). Biochemistry, Immunoglobulin E. National Library of Medicine.

Natsume, O., Kabashima, S., Nakazato. J., Yamamoto-Hanada, K., Narita, M., Kondo, M., . . . Ohya, Y. (2017). Two-step egg introduction for prevention of egg allergy in high-risk infants with eczema (PETIT): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet:389(10066):276-286.

Papanikolaou, Y. & Fulgoni, V. L. (2018). Egg Consumption in Infants is Associated with Longer Recumbent Length and Greater Intake of Several Nutrients Essential in Growth and Development. Nutrients, 10(6): 719.

Peters R. L., Koplin, J. J., Gurrin, L. C., Dharmage, S. C., Wake, M., Ponsonby, A., . . . Allen, K. J. (2017). The prevalence of food allergy and other allergic diseases in early childhood in a population-based study: HealthNuts age 4-year follow-up. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 140(1):145-153.e8.

Schneider Chafen, J. J., Newberry, S. J., Riedl, M. A., Riedl, M. A., Bravata, D. M., Maglione, M., Suttorp, M. J., . . . Shekelle, P. G. (2010). Diagnosing and Managing Common Food Allergies: A Systematic Review. JAMA, 303(18):1848-1856.

Texas Health Steps. Medical Checkup Periodicity Schedule for Infants, Children, and Adolescents.

Togias, A., Cooper, S. F., Acebal, M. L., Assa'ad, A., Baker, J. R., Beck, L. A., . . . Boyce, J. A. (2017). Addendum guidelines for the prevention of peanut allergy in the United States. JAAPA, 30(3):p 1-5.

University of Notre Dame, College of Engineering. (2013). Researchers successfully prevent peanut allergic reactions in mice, blocking onset in its tracks.

Venter, C., Pereira, B., Grundy, J., Clayton, C. B., Roberts, G., Higgins, B., & Dean, T. (2006). Incidence of parentally reported and clinically diagnosed food hypersensitivity in the first year of life. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 12:1352.

Medical Definitions

The medical definitions in this course were obtained or adapted from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; Mayo Clinic; and National Academy of Medicine.