Yesterday we published a story about Ready, Set, Food!, a new company that helps parents prevent their kids from developing food allergies by introducing potential allergens at a young age. They do this by selling a pre-measured, dissolvable supplement which introduces babies to the top three allergens responsible for 80% of allergies: eggs, peanuts, and milk. With Ready, Set, Food! in mind, we thought we would share the research that backs up their business model.

In the past, pediatricians recommended that parents hold off on introducing their little ones to potential allergens such as nuts and dairy until one year old or later. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is saying that early introduction could actually be more beneficial and prevent severe food allergies later in childhood.

The previous recommendation of waiting until the baby was a year old for cow’s milk, 2 years old (for eggs and 3 years old for peanuts and tree nuts was based on inconclusive studies from 2000. But here we are in 2020, where doctors are saying that all babies, especially those who are allergy-prone, should be introduced to common allergen foods before one year of age under controlled and specified conditions.

The “golden window” for molding the immune system is now believed to be between 4 and 6 months in order to protect children from potentially dangerous foods. The key is to introduce early and often.